Kindred
by Aliasscape
Summary: Isabelle could never exist....She's my niece. It's my job to protect her. Nadia centric, S5AU, Angst
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: As much as I'd like to, I don't own Alias or its characters. It is the property of ABC, Touchstone and Bad Robot Productions.

SUMMARY: Nadia-centric

RATED: T

GENRE: Drama/Action/Angst

SPOILERS: This is a Season 5 AU fic.

DISTRIBUTION: I'd rather this is not distributed anywhere without my permission. I'll put it where I want it. But you're still welcome to contact me and try to convince me that my story should be in your fine archive.

A/N: If you came this fic in the hope I have finally written something wherein a young child is not traumatized for life, TURN BACK NOW! This is not that fic.

_kindred adj 1: Having a similar or related origin, nature, or character, 2: __related by blood or marriage _

"I know some people think I'm crazy, still working like this, but I _can't go home_ and sit there and just - be _pregnant_. Not when the men who killed Vaughn are still out there. It's my responsibility to stop them… so this baby can be safe…"—Sydney, Episode 5.06: "Solo"

**KINDRED**

By Aliasscape

Copyright 2005

_If she moved, they would see._

_But what other choice did she have? She couldn't stand there forever. And there was nowhere to hide. It was broad daylight and the shadows were few and far between. She had abandoned the crowds. She had expected the building to provide her more cover but now, she could see it. Or rather feel it. Them. Two of them at least. Closing in on her from either side. She could run. Just bolt. There was really no there other option._

_Head towards the street. Head back down the hill. Disappear in the village and lie low. She couldn't go back now. Not back to the place that was home temporarily. She couldn't risk bringing a tail with her._

_Or she could fight. Her fingers traced over the cold, smooth metal in her hand, hidden under an oversized sleeve. But to turn and fire--to shoot. The attention it would draw. The attention she didn't need. And she couldn't do it. In spite of everything, she couldn't kill them because that wouldn't be any better than what they were doing._

_They were close now. It was now or never. She broke into a sprint. Through the arches, across the concrete floor, towards the corner of the building. The shadow ahead of her was going to cut her off, attack her when she tried to pass. She hung a left, and cried out as metal embedded itself in her back. A fiery pain charged through her and then threw her to the ground. She hurtled face first into the dirt._

_She clawed at it with her hands, attempting to crawl away, drag herself if she had to._

_The fire surged through her again. She convulsed, but finally rolled over trying to lift her head. The only thing she saw was a boot coming towards her face. She collapsed backwards into darkness._

_She awoke in darkness. Her muscles aching. Her back burning. Her wrists numb. And water dripping down her face. She blinked and sputtered, finally shaking her head. She wiggled her arms, but they were tied tightly to the arms of the chair._

_A blindingly bright light suddenly shined directly in her face. A spotlight. A flashlight. It didn't matter. She recoiled, shutting her own eyes tightly, and in the darkness the light a mess of red and blue and spots against her eyelids. She squinted as the light lowered from her face._

_"Who's there?" she whispered. "What do you want?"_

_"It's pointless to play dumb," came a female voice, accented by a heavy French accent. "You will talk to us."_

_She frowned. "I'll talk to my sister. No one else."_

_There was silence and then the light flicked off and heels tapped the floor. "Just remember that you asked for this," the French woman answered. _

_The entire room illuminated with light as the door open and the silhouette of a woman appeared in the doorway. Shadowed by the light behind her, the only thing recognizable was the walk. _

_She lifted her head to watch the woman with a squint. "Sydney?" _

_The silhouette tilted her head from one side to the other, an apparent confirmation._

_"I need to see that it's you."_

_"Nadia, just tell me where it is." Sydney's voice was impatient._

_"That's all you have to say. Just a demand. After everything you put us through?" Nadia felt Sydney's grab and twist in her hair, pulling her head to the side._

_"I'm not going to play any games with you. You'll tell me," Sydney said, dark and low. Threatening. "Now, where is it? Where did you hide her?"_

_Nadia glared, even though it was almost pointless in the dark. "You will never find it. And even if you could, you will never get to her."_

_Sydney's hand twisted hard, wrenching Nadia's neck painfully. "Where is she?"_

_"Safe," Nadia gritted out. "Finally, safe."_

_Sydney backed away. "Nadia, you're being ridiculous. She's always been safe. She's always been taken care of."_

_"Is that what you tell yourself? Is that why you think you're justified in all of this?"_

_"Justified?" Sydney laughed. "Of course I'm justified. She's my daughter. Mine. And you took her away from me."_

_"I had to do it. I'm sorry you don't understand but I had to, Sydney. There wasn't any other way to help her. To help both of you."_

_Sydney stalked away from the chair and Nadia feared her sister was leaving, but when she reached the doorway, she flipped a light illuminating the room. Then, she walked back over._

_Nadia glanced around the room. There were moldy, smelly cardboard boxes in the corners. Boards were hammered in two places on the walls near the ceiling, completely blocking out windows. Nadia gripped the arms of the chair and shifted herself, fearing what Sydney felt she needed light to do._

_"Nadia, I don't think you're well. You've convinced yourself that you've done the right thing. That kidnapping was the right thing." Sydney rested her hands gently on either side of her sister's cheeks, forcing Nadia to look her in the eye._

_"I'm not sick."_

_Sydney's eyes narrowed. "Then, you must think I am?" _

_"No," Nadia shook her head sadly. "If you were crazy, there would be some kind of excuse for what you've done. But there's no excuse. I used to think I could help you. Sometimes, I still think maybe I could. But she's the one who has to be protected in the meantime. And it's why I can't tell you where she is."_

_"Then, maybe you just want her for yourself, to be your own daughter."_

"_I love her, Sydney. That is why I did this, not for any selfish reasons."_

_Sydney's eyes brimmed with tears. "Nadia, please...I need her. You know she's all I have left of him. You can't take that."_

_Nadia frowned deeply. "That really is the only reason you care, isn't it? She's your little piece of him to hang onto. But she doesn't mean anything more to you than maybe his hockey shirt or his favorite coffee mug or--"_

_The stinging slap to her cheek forced her silent. But she breathed heavily through her nose, fuming at her sister._

"_You have no idea how I feel about my daughter. No idea at all."_

"_I don't think you _feel_ anything about her!"_

_A harder slap. A finger or two hit her eye and she couldn't stop from blinking as it watered. She couldn't hold it open and looked back at Sydney with one eye._

_Nadia swallowed hard. "Better me than her," she whispered._

_Sydney's hovering hand recoiled. "I gave you every chance to tell me. You are responsible for what happens now."_

"_What? You'll let your friend the assassin torture your own sister?"_

"_If it means, I get my daughter back, I will do anything to anyone that I have to." Sydney stalked from the room, hitting the light on the way out._

_The silhouette of the other woman appeared in the doorway and walked towards the center of the room._

"_If you are working with my sister, then you must know how little time she's had for her child. You must know whether or not she talks about her and how she does when she does—"_

"_Quiet," the woman ordered. "I owe your sister a favor and this is what she's asked. And I am not fond of those who take children from their parents." The woman was just beside her now._

_A glint of something catching light was her only precursor to the pain she suddenly felt searing through her shoulder as something—a blade--punctured skin and tore through muscle._

_She let out a strangled cry, whimpering, shaking as the knife was ripped back out of her. The woman stood there watching her reeling from the pain._

"_I will never tell you where she is," Nadia spat out._

"_We shall see." _

* * *

"Nadia? Nadia, open your eyes."

She lifted heavy eyelids just enough that light attacked and then let them slide shut again.

"Nadia? Nadia, please."

She took a deep breath and opened her eyes, halfway, taking in the light slowly, before finally trying to focus.

She felt dead. She was numb in so many places, tingly in others. And she could see a hand that must be her own clutched in her fathers, but she couldn't feel his skin against hers.

She closed her eyes then forced them open again at a contact against her cheek. She opened her eyes and focused beyond her father. Eric. His face was more solemn than she'd ever seen it and there were tears in his eyes.

She tried to turn her head, looking to see who else might be in the room. Her eyes focused in on the doorway and the cold eyes of Jack Bristow. And she realized who she didn't see.

She made her first attempt to test her rubbery lips, and her oversized tongue. "Sy..."

Eric moved closer to her. "What?"

"Nadia, it's alright. You don't have to try to talk yet," Sloane decided.

But she tried again. "Sy..."

Eric processed quickly. "Sy...Syd...Sydney?" he questioned.

She blinked her response, a nod requiring too much effort.

Eric looked to the doorway. "You called her?"

"She didn't answer," Jack responded. "I left a message."

Eric knelt beside the bed. "Sydney will be here soon," he tried to reassure her, taking Nadia's free hand.

Again, she knew she should feel his fingers entwined in her own. But he might as well have grabbed someone else's hand.

She blinked sleepily. She felt lips brush her forehead, surprised at the first real tactile sensation that didn't feel dulled in anyway.

"My Nadia...my beautiful Nadia. Everything is going to be all right now," her father's voice told her gently.

She knew it must be abnormal to feel as content as she felt, when she didn't know where she was or why or what had even happened to her. But there was no pain. That had to be a good sign.

She sank back into darkness without a fight.

"Nadia."

She thought she'd only been sleeping a few seconds, but when her eyes opened, it was Sydney in front of her.

Sydney's whole face lit up to see her. "Nadia!" But then, not her whole face. Her eyes, even as they were glassy with tears, looked haunted and empty someway that didn't match her wide smile.

"Sy..."

"I'm here," Sydney assured her. "I'm here. I'm sorry I wasn't here when you first woke up, but I'm here now."

She tried to smile, but her rubbery lips refused to hold the expression for more than a second. "Sy..."

"Just rest," Sydney answered, gently. "We'll have plenty of time to talk."

Rest hadn't seemed to be what the hospital had in mind. For the first few days, there were regular injections of a blue medicine that she was told was responsible for her recovery. Every day after that, she underwent numerous tests and therapy. She exercised to repair muscle atrophied. There were scans to be sure there wasn't any hidden brain damage. Blood tests checked for toxins and contaminants lingering in her system. And so many other tests that they wouldn't tell her the reasons for but insisted simply proved that she was going to be just fine.

Her father and Eric were at her side daily, but Sydney didn't visit again for awhile. She sent cards, notes, flowers, taped audio and visual messages and stuffed animals. And Nadia had to wonder if that had anything to do with the strange haunted look in her sister's eyes the first visit.

And one day she couldn't help but ask.

"Are you ever going to tell me what happened?" Nadia questioned.

Eric stopped shuffling the deck of cards and looked at her. "What happened…?"

"I'm in the hospital, Eric. I've been in a coma. No one will tell me why. And the last thing I remember was being captured by my aunt in Sovogda. You've all told me that was six months ago. I have a scar from a gunshot wound in my back. Who shot me? Why?"

Eric shifted uncomfortably. "Nadia, I wasn't there—"

"But you must know! I at least have a right to know who shot me."

"I did."

Her eyes lifted to the doorway and met her father's, gravely serious. His eyes shifted from her to Eric. "Agent Weiss, I'd like a moment."

Eric frowned and looked about to protest.

Nadia looked her father in the eye. "Eric, it's okay."

"I'll be right outside," he answered, kissing her and getting up.

Sloane closed the door behind him and came to stand at the foot of her bed. "You were ill, Nadia. Yelena had infected you with the water."

She flinched slightly at the ghosting sensation of a needle pricking her neck. Then, she looked at her father with a realization. "I went crazy? I became one of those…things?"

He nodded.

"That's what you kept checking my blood for? But there was no cure, how could you—"

"We found research, we made a cure. Saving you had been my only focus ever since that day," Sloane assured her. "But until then, the only solution was to keep you in the coma."

"To keep me from hurting anyone. But how did you find me? When did you shoot me?"

"I never worked for your aunt. I know you never believed I did. I defected and went to help Jack, Irina and Sydney. The controls to the machine, they were on a roof and Sydney went up there to deactivate it. You were on the roof, Nadia. And you did everything you could to stop her." His expression was pained.

"I attacked her. I attacked…Sydney?" She couldn't stop the tears.

"You didn't know what you were doing. You are not responsible."

"I tried to kill her, didn't I?"

Her father took her into his arms. "Sydney is alive, Nadia. Focus on that."

"Is that why she won't visit? Why she doesn't want to see me?"

"I can assure you, Nadia that Sydney is simply otherwise preoccupied right now."

She pulled back from her father, aware again that there were things she hadn't been told. "What?"

He just hugged her again.

She didn't get a real response to her question for another week. She had a tablet in her lap to practice her handwriting. She was happy that her dominant hand finally produced readable writing again instead of just uncontrolled squiggles.

The door opened and she recognized her sister's familiar walk. She looked up hesitantly. Her eyebrows rose at her sister's oddly budgy coat and then Sydney removed it and her largely rounded belly was clearly visible under a sweater.

Nadia looked up in wonder as Sydney moved forward. Sydney moved to stand just beside the bed and Nadia reached out hesitantly to touch her sister's stomach. Nadia ran her fingers down it lightly, never pressing before pulling her hand back and looking up. "How far along?"

"Seven months," Sydney responded.

"Vaughn must be so excited," Nadia said, softly with a smile.

Sydney stepped back abruptly, crossing her arms. "He was," Sydney answered.

Nadia's smile lessened.

"Vaughn's dead, Nadia."

"No..."

"He was murdered."

"Oh Sydney..." She reached towards her sister.

But Sydney didn't come close enough. She just continued coldly. "He was shot in cold blood, multiple times, in broad daylight. We got him to a hospital, he had surgery but the damage was...he died right in front of me."

Nadia quivered. "Who? Who killed him?"

"I've been tracking the people responsible. But the man who ordered it--Gordon Dean-- so far, I haven't been able to get to him." Sydney blinked and looked at Nadia. "I'm sorry I haven't been able to be here for you more. I've been out of the country so much—"

"You're still working?" Nadia realized.

"I have to, Nadia."

"But the risks to you, to the baby…"

"They killed Vaughn! And that man, Gordon Dean, I stood in the same room with him. He knows what I look like. He knows I'm after him. I can't just let him get away when I'm still capable of going after him."

Nadia looked down, shaking some as tears dripped down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Sydney. I'm so sorry."

Sydney finally moved closer again. "I just…I heard you thought I didn't want to see you—"

"I just didn't know if—"

"I do not blame you for anything that happened in Sovogda, Nadia. You were infected. But you're better now. And you're my sister. And that means more to me than anything."

"I understand now. Everything that you've gone through. There is so much you have to deal with."

Sydney shook her head sadly. "It's no excuse. I should have been here with you more. I can't wait for you to get out of here and come home." She came closer again and bent over to hug her sister.

Nadia hugged her back carefully. "Neither can I."

Two weeks after that, she was well enough to be released. She stayed two days longer as Sydney and Sloane debated where she would be going home to. She could hear them arguing out outside her door.

"She needs someone home with her at all times," Sloane insisted.

"I will make more time. I will be there for her as much as possible. And when I'm not, Eric is two buildings away. He's more than willing to stay with her when I can't," Sydney countered. "We'll make it work. But she should get to come home. And her home here is with me."

Sloane came to speak with her in private after that. "Where do you want to go, Nadia?"

"Sydney shouldn't be alone either," Nadia said, quietly. "Not when she's so far along." She was trying to soften the blow, that she was choosing Sydney's apartment over his house.

Her father was understanding. "If you need anything, do not hesitate to call."

"I won't," she answered softly.

* * *

"Careful of the stairs, Nadia."

"Sydney, I'm fine."

"Hold my hand at least."

"So I can take you down with me if I fall? Sydney, I've got it. At least if I fall down, I'm the only one who gets hurt."

Sydney shook her head. "Nadia, you're here so I can help you."

"We aren't going to be like this everyday, are we?" Nadia questioned as she made it to the last step, wobbling only slightly.

Sydney laughed. "Goodness, I hope not."

The door opened again with Eric carrying Nadia's bags. "Special delivery!"

Nadia took in the living room, keeping a hand on the couch as she started across it. "Those can go in my room on the bed, I'll put them away later."

"I switched our rooms," Sydney explained.

"What? You didn't have to."

"I just wanted it to be easier for you to get around with more open floor space. Plus, yours had that perfect little cubby space for a baby's room and eventual toddler room."

Nadia smiled. "Is the baby's room done?"

"Just about," Sydney answered.

"I'd like to see."

Sydney turned towards the room and Nadia followed behind her. At the end of Sydney's bedroom was a pink and white curtain. Sydney pulled it back to reveal the compact but brightly decorated space. Below the single window was a white metal crib. There was a white rocking chair with pillows and several stuffed animals, mostly bunnies. Shelves were nailed on the wall above a dresser. A plush pink rug lined the floor.

Sydney gestured to the white door leaned against the only free wall space. "We have to get the hinges up but then this will close and the baby won't be disturbed by noises at naptime."

"It's beautiful, Sydney. And pink…you didn't tell me. It's a girl?"

"That's what they tell me," Sydney answered with a nod.

"Oh Sydney, I can't wait until she's here. Do you have a name?" Nadia questioned.

"Vaughn and I discussed…." Sydney trailed off. "Nothing's certain yet."

They headed out of the room. Nadia peeked into her own room to find Eric emptying her bags into drawers. "Eric, I told you I'd put them away."

"I didn't want you to have to worry about it," he answered, stepping away from the drawers guiltily.

She swatted at him playfully. "I'm going to have to start doing things on my own you know."

"I'm going to start dinner," Sydney announced from the doorway.

"I'll help you," Nadia decided, taking careful steps out of the room. She stopped to use a side table for support. "Sydney, it looks like you have a message on your machine." She tapped a button.

_"Hello, Sydney, this is Lily from Dr. Holden's office. You missed today's ultrasound appointment. Please call us if you'd liked to reschedule."_

Nadia looked at her sister, questioningly.

"I forgot to call them," Sydney answered with a shrug, opening the refrigerator. "I knew with you getting out of the hospital today there just wasn't going to be time."

"Sydney, Eric could have picked me up."

"No, I wanted to be here. I knew I could reschedule that."

Nadia nodded. "I think I'd like to come with you."

Sydney moved a pan to heat on the stove. "I'd like that," she responded without looking up. "My dad's offered to go and he's come along a couple of times, but there's still something so awkward about it." She grinned. "I think he'd be relieved if someone took his place."

"I'm happy to do it. I want to see her. I want to think that someday I'll be going through this too," Nadia responded.

Sydney smiled. "Welcome home, Nadia."


	2. Chapter 2

**TWO**

Whimpering.

That was what she heard. It was quiet for awhile and then it would come again. Stifled whimpers.

She climbed out of the bed slowly. After being home a month, the first time she stood up in the morning was the only time her legs still felt unused and stiff. Sometimes her toes felt numb against the floor and she wasn't sure whether she was actually touching it or not.

She didn't bother pulled on a robe before exiting her room, walking through the kitchen and peeking into Sydney's room.

The whimpers came again.

"Sydney?" she asked gently.

Sydney was laying diagonal in the bed on her side. Her head started to turn but then she curled back up and didn't move. Nadia came and knelt down by her sister's face.

"Sydney?" Nadia had thought she was sleeping but Sydney's eyes were wide open and her face was puckered. She was crying so hard and yet trying so desperately to be quiet. "Sydney, talk to me, please."

Sydney again tried to turn away, one of her hands clutching her stomach tightly, rubbing it hard.

Nadia placed her hand on top of her sisters. "What is it? Are you in pain?"

Sydney pulled her hand away from her stomach, again trying to turn away, leaving Nadia's hand resting on the spot.

Nadia immediately felt movement beneath her hand before Sydney's hand came back rubbing the spot again as if she could rub it away.

Nadia took a deep breath, trying not to cry with her sister. She moved into the bed carefully and coaxed Sydney to change position and lay against her. "You can do this, Sydney. It's going to be okay."

"No…" Sydney cried. "He is supposed to be here! He is supposed to be a part of this!" She dissolved into whimpers again.

Nadia rubbed her shoulder, looking down at her sister who looked almost childlike in a strange contrast to the fact that Sydney was the largest she had ever been.

"I know," she whispered in Sydney's ear. "I know."

Sydney fought to breathe as she sobbed out her next words. "I want him back…I just want him back…"

Nadia hugged her sister closer, rubbing her back carefully. "You can do this, Sydney," she whispered. "I'll help you. I promise. _Te prometo. Ayudarás tú._"

* * *

Her fingers moved in wider, heavier, strokes as her green pencil traced over the paper again and again. The shade of green had sickened ever since her experiences with the Rambaldi fluid but since awakening from her coma, she had to draw to empty her mind. And it was excellent work to build up the dexterity in her fingers.

The images came to her in flashes. She sometimes thought maybe the images had something to do with her being under the influence of the Rambaldi water. But none of the images made enough sense. There were only shapes. Circles mainly. Red and green circles. Golden stars and dots.

The sensation of lying in bed flat left her numb at times. Maybe it was an imaginary sensation but she always felt so chilled and helpless when she tried to fall asleep. An hour or two a night was the best she could do for actual sleep. But when she woke up, she was never tired. And then after three or four days it would hit her and she could sleep for a solid twelve hours. When she awoke, the urge to draw was uncontrollable.

She kept a sketchbook by her bedside, never showing it to anyone. She normally drew only in her room. In the early morning when Sydney wasn't home from work yet, or was still asleep, she'd draw in the living room.

Nadia thought pregnancy was supposed to leave a person tired. If it did, Sydney refused to give into it. Sydney was still at the APO offices nearly everyday. When she was home, she was often on her computer or on the phone late into the night.

Nadia knew she was on leave and hardly cleared for the classified information of APO. Sometimes she wished she could know just what information her sister sought and what kind of progress she was making. And when she saw Sydney finishing phone calls near tears or frustrated, she just wanted to be able to comfort sister and ease her distress.

Finally, at nine months, the doctor strongly discouraged Sydney to stop flying around the world. Sydney was home more, but she also seemed more discontent and short tempered.

Nadia often tried to spend a few evenings a week at Weiss's apartment to give her sister some space. And she made sure to call her father everyday, as Sloane calling the house often seemed leave Sydney bristled if she answered.

"I was grateful to him for helping us in Sovogda, even more so for helping you get better," Sydney had explained. "It doesn't mean I forgive him for everything he's ever done to me."

Nadia had dinner with her father once a week and he always spoiled her with a gift each time. He told her how much he'd missed her and how much he felt he still owed her for the first twenty-five years of life that he hadn't been a part of. She asked him to fill her in on events that had transpired during her coma. And he commended her for how far she'd come in the few months it had been since she'd awakened.

She switched back to her red pencil, darkening her center circle when the door opened to Sydney's room and she saw Sydney headed for the front door with a travel bag in hand.

Nadia's eyes widened. "Where are you going?"

"Nadia, what are you doing up so early?"

Nadia closed her sketchbook. "Do you have a trip?"

"Just a quick one," Sydney responded. "One day. I have to go pick up some documents from a contact."

"Where?" Nadia demanded.

"San Salvador," she answered.

"Sydney, you can't get on a plane. You're due in two weeks. Not even two weeks! Can't they fax you the paperwork? Can't they have to send someone else?"

"Nadia, this person only trusts me."

"Then, they need to come to you."

"It's one day. A quick trip."

"Sydney!"

"I have to, Nadia. It's important."

"No. You can't go."

Sydney shook her head. "Nadia, I'm going to be late."

"I'm coming with you."

"You don't have anything packed. And you're not cleared—"

"I'll wait in the car."

"Nadia, not even my father is being this overprotective."

"So he knows about this trip?"

"He's in Washington. It's not his decision to make."

"Sydney, how can you even consider this? The doctor told you to stop flying. This is the safety of your baby. How can you want to take the risk?"

"How can I not, Nadia? Some day, I have to tell this baby who her father was and what happened to him. And when she asks me why, I want to have a reason. And when she asks her if the people who killed Vaughn are gone now, I need to be able to tell her yes and that she's safe and that the people who killed her Daddy will never ever be able to come after her and that I did everything in my power to find them and to stop them from ever hurting anyone else. You can't_ tell_ me that that's not worth the minimal risk of me doing something I've done almost every day for the last thirteen years of my life."

Nadia fell silent and Sydney left the house. The sound of the door slamming behind her sister was amplified in Nadia's ears.

Nadia sank onto the couch in the empty apartment, but she had to look down to confirm her hands were indeed gripping the soft cushions. Her fingers were numb.

* * *

She had missed running.

In the hospital she'd just been too weak and at home, even she had her worries at first that she might exhaust herself and not be able to get back home.

But after much practice on a treadmill, timing herself, tracking her miles. She finally knew again how far she would be able to go and get back and not be completely exhausted. She still wasn't back at the miles she had been at prior to her coma but she could run.

With her hair back in a tight pony tail, sweats and a stop watch, she made herself a new route around the surrounding area. Without sleep and her mind still on the morning's argument, she was tired of compulsively coloring circles. And so, at 1 a.m. she was running circles instead.

Her cell phone glowed and vibrated in her pocket, shining blue through her gray pants. She stopped giving the street a once over before jogging onto the shoulder and opening her phone, checking the id before she placed it to her ear. "Hello, Sydney?"

Static.

"Sydney, are you there? Are you on your way back?"

"Nadia."

The voice was so faint; Nadia was dismayed at the bad connection. "Sydney, I'm sorry, I can barely hear you."

"Nadia!"

The muffled cry was accompanied by a gasp and more static.

And then her sister's voice, the weakest and most pitiful that she had ever heard it.

"Help me."

Nadia's heart pounded. "Sydney, talk to me. Tell me where you are!" She started jogging again, back towards her house, but the static increased on the line and she slowed to a walk. "Sydney, what's happening?"

Static overtook the line and the call dropped.

Nadia quickly redialed but the phone only rang repeatedly. She broke into a sprint barreling back towards the apartment, continually redialing the whole way. She reached Weiss's door and pounded on it over and over loudly, even daring to shout for him several times but there was no answer.

Where could he be at this hour? She knew he didn't have to work. He'd asked her over and she'd turned him down because she was still in a mood about Sydney.

She dialed again letting a cry of frustration that the phone still rang and went to voicemail. She stumbled back to her own apartment, still redialed constantly and tears of relief sprang to her eyes as she saw Weiss outside her door.

His eyes widened. "I've been trying to get a hold of you, where were you?" he asked.

"Where were you?" she demanded.

"I got a call from APO. They got a call, it got cut off. We think something happened to--"

"Sydney!" Nadia exclaimed, realizing the phone against her ear wasn't ringing and wasn't at voicemail. There was heavy breathing on the opposite end.

Weiss searched her face and pointed at the phone. "Is that her?" he whispered.

Nadia nodded. "Sydney, say something please. Are you still in San Salvador?"

"Yes," Sydney choked out in response.

"What happened?"

"My meet…ambushed."

Nadia swallowed hard. "Are you hurt?"

"Yes…no…Nadia…" A heavy breath. "I'm in labor."

Nadia felt the phone sliding through her fingers but caught it just before it started to fall.

"They're triangulating her signal back at APO. They're going to send a team," Weiss explained, softly.

Nadia nodded and looked at him. "Eric, she's having the baby."

"NOW?!"

Nadia sighed. "Sydney, are you sure? You've been having light contractions all—"

"I'm sure, Nadia! The contractions keep coming, they aren't stopping and they're getting…they're worse."

"Where are you?" Nadia asked desperately. She nodded to Weiss frantically.

"A warehouse, I don't know. Some supply room. I…couldn't get out, they were everywhere…I hid in here…I barricaded the door….I hear them, downstairs. Sometimes."

"APO's working on it. They're going to get you out of there." Eric guided Nadia towards his car and she climbed inside.

"We better get to APO," he said gently.

"I don't know if….I can wait. The baby."

"The labor's supposed to last for hours the first time," Nadia tried to reassure her.

"It's _been_ hours Nadia. My phone…it barely works here. At first, I kept trying but then I tried to just conserve the battery. I need…I need to talk to a doctor."

"What, you think you're close to…the birth?" Nadia questioned. "Sydney, where's your contact?"

"He's dead."

"But then, you think you can do it by yourself? Sydney!"

"I don't think I have any other…choice." Sydney groaned. "I have…supplies…a knife…and…some water…and some clothes."

Nadia blinked, feeling ill at the thought of her sister trying to have this baby in some warehouse, under siege, alone. A contraction apparently came on hard because all she could hear for awhile were Sydney's groans.

Weiss parked the car in the parking garage and they quick walked to the entrance of APO.

"I need to get to medical services; she needs to talk to a doctor," Nadia explained.

"I'll be in the conference room. I need to know what kind of progress they're making."

"Hang on Sydney, you can talk to a doctor in a second," Nadia said quickly.

From the moment, Nadia entered medical services things were a blur. The call was tapped through APO and Sydney was placed on a speaker phone as the doctor did his best to ascertain Sydney's progress with question after question. Nadia hung back hugging herself so tightly, tears streaming down her eyes as she listened to Sydney's panicked answers, sometimes interrupted by a deep breaths and pained groans.

Finally, the doctor took a deep breath and was quiet for a minute. Then, he spoke clearly into the speaker phone, "Sydney, from everything you're telling me, you're ready to do this. You've determined you've dilated, the head's down and it sounds like you're crowning. When you feel your next contraction, you need to start pushing."

"No," Nadia whispered.

"I'm going to be right here, listening, if you feel or see anything unusual or start to bleed heavily, I need you to tell me. But some bleeding and tearing is normal. Now, you have a knife to cut the cord but do you have anything to tie it off with? Something that will be tight."

"I..." It was silent a moment. "I don't know."

"A piece of string? A rubber band, Sydney, Anything?"

"I have a band in my hair..."

"That'll work. I'll talk you through it when you reach that point."

Nadia's stomach lurched and she excused herself from the room a moment. She saw Eric coming up the hallway. "Tell me they're close!" she ordered.

"Closer...It might be another hour," he responded. "And even once they reach the building, getting inside...if there's still people there."

"She's giving birth, right now, Eric! By herself!" He embraced her and she nestled herself against him. "I shouldn't have let her go...I let her go."

"This is not your fault, Nadia. She made the decision to go."

"She doesn't deserve this," Nadia whimpered.

He hugged her closer and she buried her face in his chest, sobbing. She wanted him to hold her forever and yet she kept thinking he needed to get back upstairs and tell the team to hurry up and get to Sydney. But he didn't shift impatiently or push her away. He wasn't going to make her let him go.

The medical services door opened and the doctor peeked out. "Nadia, can you step back in please? There's something I'd like you to see."

Nadia gripped Eric's hand took a bracing deep breath and started back towards the door and came in right beside her.

The doctor gestured to a wall of monitors all showing the same image. A pink baby with open eyes, open mouth.

"It's a girl," the doctor announced.

Nadia gasped. "Sydney, are you okay?" she questioned the room.

The doctor frowned uncomfortably. "We lost contact right after she sent the picture. But she'd had the afterbirth, we'd taken care of the cord, and she wasn't bleeding heavily. The baby was breathing and crying. I think they should be stable until more help arrives."

"When?" Nadia questioned Eric.

He checked his watch. "Another fifteen to twenty minutes. They'll call us as soon as they get to her, Nadia."

"But was she okay?" Nadia questioned the doctor. "Was everything normal?"

"Very normal, except for how fast everything progressed the second she started pushing. The baby was apparently more than ready for delivery."

Nadia nodded and sat down in a chair.

Eric rubbed her tense shoulders, reassuringly.

They sat in relative silence awhile, waiting for the phone to ring.

Twenty minutes elapsed.

Thirty minutes.

Forty-five minutes.

Nadia could feel herself only getting more and more worried.

Eric could apparently feel it to as he suddenly stood. "I'm going to get you some coffee."

"Something must be wrong," Nadia whispered.

"Don't think like that. I'll be right back," he promised, kissing her cheek.

She hugged her arms around herself, feeling cold in the white, sterile area of Medical Services. She was exhausted and when she closed her eyes the abstract images of red and green circles flickered through her. She inhaled abruptly and stood up.

She headed up to the conference room.

"Nadia!" Dixon greeted.

"Is there any news?" Nadia questioned.

Dixon held out a phone to her and she took it carefully.

"Hello?"

"Nadia?"

Nadia blinked hard. "Sydney…" Her voice was escaping her. Coherent thoughts were escaping her. "Sydney…"

"They got us out. We were checked over in ambulance and we just got checked into a hospital."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm okay. We're both okay. I must have spent every second we were there just checking to make sure she was still breathing…" Sydney let out a tired sigh. "We've both been checked over by a doctor. She's six pounds, three ounces. Eighteen and a half inches long."

"I can't wait to see her and you," Nadia whispered.

"They might keep us for a couple days. I'll talk to you soon."

The call ended and Nadia hung up slowly. Eric was behind her and she wondered when he'd entered the room. She threw her arms around him so suddenly he nearly dropped the two coffees in his hands.

"She's okay," she told him. "They're both okay."

He smiled and pressed his chin against her head. "Didn't I tell you?" He grinned. "Congrats."

She looked up at him.

"You're an aunt now. Auntie Nadia."

She grinned and took her coffee from his hand, freeing one of his arms to wrap around her.

"Yes," she said, taking a sip. "I am."

* * *

"Careful of the stairs, Sydney."

"Nadia, I'm fine."

"Let me hold onto her at least."

"She's not heavy at all, I can carry her."

Nadia shook her head. "Sydney, I'm here so I can help you."

"You aren't going to be like this everyday, are you?" Sydney questioned as she made it to the last step, and set down the carrier.

Nadia grinned. "I probably am. She's my niece. I have to protect her." Nadia knelt down and took a peek into the carrier where the baby slept oblivious to the antics of her relatives. "Is she supposed to sleep this long? Hasn't it been like four hours?"

"Yes," Sydney answered. "At least I hope so. I'll love it if she turns out to be good napper. All the books say sleep will be elusive for me for the next couple of months. Thank goodness you'll be half a house away so she won't disturb you too."

Nadia stood up straighter, shifting the diaper bag on her shoulder. "It's alright. I want to help. We can alternate nights or something. Unless, you've decided you are going to breastfeed?"

"I might give it another try. Even though I knew it was good for her in the hospital, it just seemed like an extra frustration to both her and me. She likes the bottles better."

"Well, just tell me what I can do to help. You've taken such good care of me since I got better, I just want to do everything I can help you now."

Sydney smiled as she took the bag off Nadia's shoulder and began placing bottles in the refrigerator.

Nadia picked up the carrier and set it in front of her as she sat down on the couch. "I can't stop staring at her. I think she's going to look a lot like you."

"You make that sound like a good thing," Sydney said, making a face.

"Oh stop, Sydney. You're beautiful. And so is she."

Sydney touched her belly. "When I lose more of this, then we can start talking about beautiful again."

The doorbell rang and baby jerked in her carrier.

Nadia grimaced. "We'll have to get one of those signs."

Sydney nodded, went to the door and opened it. "Dad."

"I was going to meet you at the airport," Jack Bristow said, carefully.

"I'm sorry, my flight was early. You should have called. Come on in."

Jack stepped just inside the door and she closed it.

He nodded to Nadia.

Nadia smiled and nodded back to him as she unfastened the baby who was starting to awaken and fuss. She nestled the infant in the crook of one arm.

He moved down the steps, but not towards the baby.

Sydney crossed her arms as she came back down the steps behind him. "How was Washington?" she asked.

"You never should have gone to San Salvador."

Sydney shot him a look. "Are we going to start this now?"

"You know I never would have approved it."

"As my superior or as my father?"

"Sydney! The danger that you put yourself in--"

"I'm alive, Dad. I'm fine."

"You gave birth in a supply room!" His voice lost all calm.

Nadia cringed as the baby began to fuss again and tried to move unassumingly across the room to grab the one room-temperature bottle.

"I did what I had to do. Maybe it wasn't ideal--"

"_Maybe_ it wasn't ideal? If you weren't already on leave, I'd suspend you."

Sydney glared at him. "Did you even see the intel I brought back?"

"You were reckless. You compromised yourself, your contact and your child. That's unacceptable, Sydney."

She just shook her head, exasperated. "Excuse me." She stalked past Nadia and the baby and disappeared into her bedroom.

Jack Bristow turned and started for the door.

Nadia frowned. "Jack, wait."

He stopped and looked to her expectantly.

Nadia put down the bottle and started towards him. "Don't you want to see your granddaughter?" She sat the baby up a little in her arms.

Jack's eyes only dropped to the infant momentarily. "Another time." He turned and headed out the door closing the door behind him.

Nadia glanced back and forth at the two closed doors and then turned her attention back to the baby in her arms. She finally walked to Sydney's room and pushed the door open slowly.

Sydney was sitting on her bed, crumpling tissues. "Is he gone?" she asked.

Nadia nodded.

"Does he think it was what I wanted? That I wasn't scared out of my mind the entire time thinking that I was going to die or she was or that we both were?" She grabbed another tissue.

"He was just concerned for you. I don't think he knew how to say that."

"I didn't plan for it to be like this!" Sydney cried, eyeing the baby.

"It'll get better," Nadia said, certainly.

Sydney shook her head. "That's just it, it won't." She turned to a picture on her side table of her and Vaughn together. "He's dead, and he's going to _be_ dead everyday for the rest our lives." She fell over sobbing and curled up on the bed.

Nadia's eyes stung just watching her.

After a moment, Sydney's voice came out weakly. "Just watch her for a little longer please. I'm going to try and get some sleep."

"Of course."

Nadia slipped out of the room and when she settled onto the couch again, the baby's brown eyes were half open watching her. "I'm here," she whispered to the child, hugging the infant closer to her.


	3. Chapter 3

**THREE**

Nadia opened the front door. "Eric?"

"Am I early?" he questioned, stepping in.

Nadia shook her head. "No, but Sydney's not back yet. Come in." She closed the door behind him.

"Where'd she go?" Eric questioned.

Nadia walked back over to the bouncy on the floor in front of the chair where the baby was sitting contentedly. "She was at the gym this morning as usual. And then I think she was going to run another errand or two, but she didn't tell me what specifically."

"But you told her we had plans?" he questioned.

"Of course. She's probably just running late."

"Is she excited about coming back to work next week? Half of us are speculating that she'll extend it beyond six weeks."

Nadia shook her head. "I doubt that. She was ready to go back two weeks ago when she first had all the weight off. Even just to sit behind a desk."

Eric sat down on the couch and turned the bouncy towards him, making several funny faces at the baby.

"She can barely see you, you know," Nadia laughed.

"Ah, no wonder this isn't working. And here I thought I was doing some of my best work." He sighed. "So, I thought she was getting a nanny."

Nadia shook her head. "About that, it's not what she really wanted. She was raised by a nanny so much of the time, the thought of getting one just made her really uncomfortable. She did some interviews and after the third or fourth one, I just decided to let her know there was no rush and I was happy to help. With Sydney's schedule when she's working, she probably would have needed three nannies anyway."

Eric nodded. "But what about when you're ready to come back to work?" he wondered.

Nadia shrugged. "I don't know when I will be. If I will be. I don't want to be a spy for the rest of my life. I tried to get out before and if Sydney's life hadn't been in danger, I might never have come back. Right now, it doesn't seem like the direction for my life." Nadia smiled at the baby, unbuckled her from the bouncy and pulled the little girl into her lap. "And I don't mind watching her at all. Plus, I know her and her schedule. I don't know if we'd really want to trust anyone else with her. At least not right now when she's so little."

The front door opened. Sydney had two grocery bags in arm. "I'm sorry. I know I'm late." She deposited the bags on the counter. "You two can get out of here now."

Eric and Nadia stood up.

"I just fed her," Nadia explained. "She's probably ready for a nap."

Sydney began emptying the grocery bags. "Perfect. Put her in the swing. Maybe she'll be halfway out by the time I'm done."

Nadia strapped the baby securely in the swing. The second she took two steps away from her, the baby was letting out plaintive cries. "Sydney, I don't think she likes this thing. She cries every time we put her in it and I don't think she's fallen sleep in it more than once. You want me to stay until you can grab her?"

"She's fine, Nadia. Get going."

Nadia turned to leave hesitantly. By the time Eric and she had stepped outside the door, the baby was in full blown cries. "I feel bad leaving her like that."

"She'll be fine. She's with her mother," Eric said, with a smile. "Now, relax, turn off Auntie-Mode for a couple hours. We're going to a movie and out to dinner and maybe bowling. I'm not returning you to this house until it's dark."

* * *

Nadia gave him a quick peck on the lips and opened the car door.

"Hey, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were in a hurry to get away from me."

"I'm just tired, Eric," she responded. "The baby's up at all hours you know. And with Sydney back at work these past few months I try to be up with her more so Sydney can some rest. A couple of times I've gotten home before and she's out cold and the baby's up. She can sleep through it she's so tired all the time."

"Well, it sounds like she needs to take some time off," Eric responded. "Did you figure out about tomorrow night yet?"

"I don't think so, Eric. But I'll call you soon," Nadia answered. She climbed out of the car and hurried up the walk. She stopped in front of the front door and braced herself as she pushed it open.

The sound of the three-month-old's loud cries hit her immediately.

Nadia let out an exasperated sigh and slammed the door behind her. She dropped her purse and coat and marched over to the swing, rescuing the baby from it and trying to soothe her.

Sydney emerged from the bathroom moments later, toweling wet hair.

"Didn't you hear her?" Nadia questioned, almost having to shout to be heard over the infant.

"She was content when I left her. I had shampoo in my hair. I couldn't just run out here without rinsing it out. I knew she didn't need anything. She just had a nap. And it's not time to feed her again yet."

Nadia glared at Sydney. "She's been getting hungry every two hours lately. If you ever watched her, maybe you would notice."

Sydney narrowed her eyes at her sister. "What are you talking about, Nadia? And what suddenly brought this on?"

"Every time I leave her Sydney, she's crying. Every time I come back, she's crying."

Sydney almost laughed. "Is that all? She's a baby. It's her only form of communication."

"But she almost never cries like this when I'm watching her."

"Of course not, you hold her all day," Sydney grumbled, putting the towel around her shoulders.

"You don't hold her at all. Not if you don't have to." The baby was finally starting to quiet in Nadia's arms.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Give her to me." Sydney snatched her daughter from her sister's arms.

Immediately, the baby began to wail loudly again.

"Sydney!"

Sydney stalked off into her bedroom and the door closed behind her, only muffling the child's cries.

Nadia moved to stand just beside the door and she found herself watching the clock, waiting to see how long it would take for the baby to quiet. But she couldn't stand her niece's wails. She gripped the doorknob to turn it but it was locked. She knocked on the door. Once. Twice. Harder. Softer.

"Sydney?"

No response.

"Sydney?" she called louder. "Do you want me to make her a bottle?"

Nadia jiggled the knob again. "SYDNEY!"

Frustrated, she finally sighed and walked away from the door. She went and took a shower and got ready for bed. When she came back by the door later, it was thankfully quiet.

Nadia finally settled down in her own bed and tried to grab some sleep. Her sleep pattern was still nowhere near normal, but the exhaustion of watching the baby all day, usually meant she would sleep six hours collectively, with a break after four to deal with the baby. She still woke up after four hours but she had a feeling Sydney's door was still locked. She rolled over and attempted to go back to sleep.

She hadn't thought she would actually go out but she awoke late in the morning. She climbed out of bed, relieved to see Sydney's door open. Though, she frowned at the emptiness of the house. But it wouldn't have been the first time that Sydney had run out the door to work without even bothering to wake her.

Nadia peeked into the baby's room quietly, wondering if the child was awake yet. She frowned.

The crib was empty.

Nadia turned and went into the living room, checking the bouncy and the swing.

Both empty.

Nadia checked the counter and refrigerator for messages. She dialed her cell phone, first to her voicemail for messages and then to try to call Sydney.

_"The cellular customer you are trying to reach is either unavailable or..."_

Nadia frowned. She dialed another number. "Eric?"

"Good morning," he greeted, cheerily.

"Do you know where Sydney is?"

"I have the day off so I haven't seen her. Why? What's up?"

Nadia's fingers tapped the counter, her nails hitting in rhythm. "She's not here and neither is the baby."

"Maybe she's out running errands."

"She's supposed to be working today. I'm supposed to be babysitting." She tapped harder, watching her nails hit the counter, and feeling a disconnect in sensation between her nail and her finger.

"It's her baby, Nadia. I'm sure she knows where she is."

"But..." She sighed.

"Hey, you sound really freaked about this. What's going on?"

"Sydney and I, we just had this horrible fight last night, about her and me and the baby."

"Look, I can call and see if she went to work, okay?" Weiss offered. "I'll call you right back."

Nadia waited on the couch but it was the doorbell that rang.

"She didn't go in today, Nadia," Eric assured her once he was inside. "She wasn't even supposed to. Maybe she just forgot to tell you. See, she's out with the baby somewhere. I'm sure they'll be back later. You want to grab some lunch?"

"I don't know…"

"Nadia, you really look just…shaken. What happened last night?"

"I just…we shouted at each other and the way she snatched her from me was so harsh. She went into her bedroom and I could just hear the baby crying for so long."

Eric hugged her to him. "I can stay here with you or we can go out…whatever you want."

Nadia looked around the empty apartment. "Let's go out," she decided. "Just give me a few minutes? To get ready?"

"I'll be here," he answered.

She kissed him and headed into her bedroom.

* * *

Nadia blinked her eyes opened and squinted sideways at the movie onscreen. "How much did I miss?"

"Just the last two hours of it," Eric replied, around a mouthful of popcorn.

"Oh what time is it?" She rubbed her eyes.

"4 a. m?"

Nadia sat up. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I've been sleeping so much lately."

Eric smiled. "I didn't mind. I got to watch the good parts in complete silence."

"I should get home," she said.

He set aside his popcorn bowel. "Alright, but I'm walking you back."

Nadia looked him in the eye. "Worried I won't make it back on my own?"

"Someone as beautiful as you at this hour? Yes, actually, I'm scared out of my mind I'm never going to see you again."

"4 a.m., at least Sydney should be back by now," Nadia answered, as Eric held up her coat and she slipped her arms in the sleeves.

They walked hand-in-hand across grounds and paths back to Sydney's apartment. Nadia frowned. "Her car's not back."

"If you want me to stay," Eric offered.

"No, I'm just going to sleep. Thanks for today."

"Anytime," he answered.

Nadia moved towards the door of the apartment and noticed it was already open. She stepped back. "I locked this, I know I did." She swallowed and looked Eric in the eye. They both took a stance on either side of the door and pushed it open.

The apartment was dark.

Nadia moved stealthily along the wall and to the light switch, illuminating the room. She gasped at a crumpled figure on the floor of the apartment.

"Sydney!"

She immediately knelt at her sister's side, rolling her onto her back so she could see her. "Sydney?"

Sydney moaned. There was a scrape on her cheek and bruises on her knuckles. Her breathing was ragged.

Nadia frowned. "Sydney, talk to me."

Eric knelt on the opposite side and touched her wrist. "Her pulse is racing," he realized.

Sydney's eyes fluttered and she trembled every so often. She moaned again and then made a noise akin to giggle.

"She must be on something," Nadia concluded in disgust. She looked around the room with eyebrows raised. She stood up and surveyed it one more time before suddenly dashing into Sydney's room, the baby's room, the bathroom, her own room.

"Eric," she whimpered, losing her calm. "The baby's not here!"

He frowned and looked down at Sydney. "We've got to get her to the hospital."

Nadia eyed her sister, angrily and took Sydney's face in her hands. "Where is she, Sydney? Where's the baby? Where is she?!"

Sydney's eyes fluttered.

Nadia shook her, trying to make her lucid.

"Nadia, Nadia," Eric grabbed her, making her release Sydney and wrapping his arms around her.

Nadia burrowed against him, shaking. "If anything's happened to her, if she's done anything to her—"

Eric hugged her to him tightly. "We'll find her, Nadia. We'll find her!"


	4. Chapter 4

**FOUR**

She smelled it before she saw it. The aroma of hot coffee from the cup under her nose alerted her from her thoughts and returned her to the hospital hall. She looked up at him sadly and shook her head. "It'd be my third cup."

"You've been up practically all night, Nadia. You have to be exhausted," he responded.

"I'm not," she answered, simply. "Maybe I should be but...I can't sleep. I should be out there, searching."

He sat down on the bench in the hallway beside her. "We've got a picture of her to the news, and the police, and the hospitals."

"They're checking dumpsters and abandoned cars, Eric. What if...what if somebody took her?"

"Then, we'll get her back."

She stood up abruptly and walked to the window. The sun was up. "I just wish we could get a doctor to tell us something...at the very least when Sydney will be able to tell us what's going on."

"Perhaps now."

Nadia turned to the unfamiliar voice. "What?"

The doctor smiled at her. "Your sister seems to be waking up. You can talk to her now."

Nadia was past the doctor and heading into the room before the woman could say anything else. She walked up to the bed. "Sydney?"

Sydney blinked her eyes open drowsily. She took a deep breath.

"Sydney, what happened?" Nadia questioned. "Where's Bristow?"

Sydney looked at Nadia with confusion.

Nadia frowned. "Your daughter, Sydney! Where is she? Where's Bristow?"

Sydney shook her head, her eyes widening. "I don't..."

"You came home without her!" Nadia exclaimed. "You have to remember where you took her. What happened to you tonight? Were you in a fight?"

"I had...a meeting with a contact. I took her with me."

"Where?!"

Sydney rattled off the address.

Nadia looked to Eric who was in the doorway.

"On it," he responded.

Sydney rubbed the side of her face, tiredly. "But I think he crossed me. He was trying to take me in to Dean. He injected me with something. I got away...back to the car. I'd left her in the car."

"Your car wasn't at the house, Sydney. Just you. Where else did you go?"

"Everything gets hazy after that, Nadia...I don't...I don't remember anything but getting in the car. She was in the car," Sydney insisted.

"But where's the car?"

Sydney blinked, slowly, starting to drift.

Nadia gripped her sister's hand, firmly. "Sydney, you have to stay awake. You have to focus. Where's the baby?"

Sydney's eyes opened again, glassy. "I don't _know, _Nadia. I don't remember...anything but getting in the car after I fought him." She blinked hard.

Nadia's eyes stung. "How could you take her to a meet? Why didn't you leave her with me?"

Sydney's expression darkened. "You apparently thought I didn't spend enough time or care about my daughter."

"And losing her was supposed to convince me that you do?" Nadia responded.

Eric stepped back in the room, his expression serious.

"What is it?" Nadia questioned, almost afraid to know.

Eric looked to Sydney in the bed, concerned. "They found your car. It was in an accident. It was off the road, in some bushes lodged against a fence."

"Oh Eric..." Nadia cried.

Sydney nodded, processing hesitantly. "Bristow? Was she...is she in the car?"

"No," he answered. "And neither was the baby seat. But at this point, they don't know if she was removed from the car before or after the accident." He sighed. "The state you were in, it wouldn't be surprising if…"

"If I crashed the car," Sydney finished.

"But who took Bristow out of it?" Nadia questioned. "You or somebody else?"

Sydney blinked rapidly and then started to sit up in the bed. "I have to... I have to find her." She yanked at her IV and swung her legs to floor.

"Whoa, easy," Eric responded, coming closer.

Sydney attempted to stand anyway and her legs weakened beneath her immediately. She fell forward and he caught her. He leaned her back in the bed.

"I have to find...she's my baby..."

Nadia sank into a chair. "You should have left her with me." Her voice cracked. "You could have. I don't mind watching her. I never have."

Sydney turned away in the bed, not answering.

It was silent for a minute. Eric's cell phone rang and he quietly excused himself.

"The meet wasn't supposed to be dangerous," Sydney said, quietly.

"Neither was the one where Bristow was born!" Nadia snapped. "That turned into a siege. They can always _be_ dangerous."

A throat cleared in the doorway and the sisters turned towards the noise.

"Dad," Sydney stated, emotionlessly. "How did you know I was here?"

"I was called and told about the discovery of your car. I began calling hospitals to see if you'd been admitted."

"I'm fine," Sydney replied, trying to sit up. "I'm sorry you had to come all the way over here."

"I thought you were in trouble, considering..." He moved from the doorway with a baby carrier in hand.

"Bristow?!" Nadia exclaimed, moving towards him immediately, having to see for herself the infant in the carrier.

"I left her with you?" Sydney questioned, in disbelief.

"Left? Is that what you call a frantic knock at my door and not even being there when I opened it?" Jack queried harshly.

Nadia unbuckled the carrier and pulled the baby into her arms, looking her over for injuries. Bristow yawned, only having recently awoke and then formed a contented smile.

"There's not a mark on her," Nadia announced, relieved.

Eric peeked back into the room. "A witness to Sydney's crash said it was around three-thirty. What time did you get the baby?"

"A little before three o'clock this morning," Jack stated.

"She wasn't in the car," Nadia breathed, cuddling Bristow closer.

Sydney watched her sister a moment before shifting. "Nadia, give her to me please."

Nadia moved, reluctantly placing Bristow in her sister's arms. She turned back on Jack with a raised eyebrow. "Where were you all night? Didn't you watch the news?"

"After being inexplicably left with an infant at my door, I felt my time was better served trying to find an explanation. I called Sydney's cell phone, the house. I went over to the house to find it vacant. Ultimately, I was forced to go buy formula." He looked at Sydney. "You only left her one bottle."

"It was an emergency. I'll pay you back," Sydney answered stiffly, keeping her eyes on the infant.

Jack's expression was tight. "The next time you want me to watch her, I expect adequate supplies and prior notice."

Sydney met his eyes slowly. "Next time...?"

Jack returned her gaze with a confirming nod.

Sydney smiled momentarily. "Of course," she answered, softly.

Jack turned and left the room.

Sydney sat back in the bed. "I must have realized how out of it I was and dropped her at my father's rather than continuing to risk driving around with her in the car."

"And maybe you had no idea what you were doing," Nadia answered, moving back towards the bed.

"I left her with my father. Not some random doorstep."

Nadia shook her head. "This is only the second time he's ever even seen her." She ran a hand over the top of Bristow's head.

Sydney raised an eyebrow. "She's fine, Nadia. I don't know why you're so worked up about this."

"I thought she was dead, Sydney! All night. I thought..."

"And you can see now that she's not." Sydney tilted Bristow up in her arms. "You have to calm down. You were up all night. Go home and get some rest."

Nadia hesitated, her gaze falling to Bristow.

"You won't get any rest with her there," Sydney answered.

"I can watch her," Weiss volunteered. "I'm wired anyway. I had six cups of coffee."

Sydney eyed the two of them and hoisted the baby into Nadia's arms. "Fine, take her."

The baby fussed at being moved again so abruptly. Nadia snuggled Bristow closely before strapping her into the carrier.

The baby coughed.

Nadia frowned.

The baby coughed again.

"Sydney, I think she has a cold." Nadia reached for a tissue to wipe the baby's runny nose. "You shouldn't have kept her out so late."

"She was probably due to get sick anyway," Sydney answered.

Nadia shot Sydney a look, took a deep breath, then tossed the baby blanket over the top of the carrier and headed for the door.


	5. Chapter 5

**FIVE**

Nadia bounced the baby in the doorway as she watched Sydney folding clothes to fit into the bag. The seven month old was fussing at her annoyed as Nadia kept trying to lift the bottle towards the baby's mouth.

"Nadia, she can hold that bottle and feed herself you know."

"I know, but she wasn't drinking it," Nadia responded. "How long is this trip going to be again?"

Sydney patted the clothes down and pulled the zipper. "Two days, three at the most. I have to get to France and meet with...someone there before we decided our next move."

Bristow shoved the bottle away with her arm for the third time, frustrated and began to cry, loudly.

"See?" Nadia asked Sydney, even though Sydney had barely been watching. "She hasn't eaten anything all day."

"My dad's set to take her tomorrow, I know you and Eric have that play," Sydney replied, pulling the suitcase off the bed.

"I don't know if we'll go," Nadia answered, as she rubbed Bristow's back trying to get her to quiet.

"Nadia, you know my father's been good with her these past few months. Let him watch her." Sydney moved through the doorway past the two of them.

Nadia startled as the baby's wails suddenly increased in pitch. Bristow's entire face turned red as she cried. "Sydney, it's not that." She tried shifted Bristow to the other hip and hugged her more securely, shushing in the baby's ear as she swayed slightly. "I don't want to leave her, because I think she's sick."

"She's not sick," Sydney answered.

"She feels warm," Nadia countered.

"She's crying. Of course she feels warm. And even if she is warm, she's probably just teething."

"Sydney, I'm serious. And I'm not sure you should go on this trip."

Sydney narrowed her eyes. "Nadia, you've been trying to convince me not to go all week."

"Because you haven't been home more than two days in a row since she was six weeks old. We never see you!"

Sydney's expression softened. "You want us to spend some together when we get back? We can do that, Nadia. I'd like that. You can just say so." Sydney nodded towards the baby. "You don't have to use her as an excuse."

Nadia stalked across the room and thrust the crying baby into her sister's arms. "Sydney, your baby is sick whether you want to believe it or not."

The baby cried louder.

"And what do you want me to do?" Sydney questioned. "It's too late to take her to the doctor's; they're not open. The best we can do is give her some meds right now." Sydney held out Bristow towards Nadia again.

Bristow's petite arms reached towards Nadia and snuggled against her aunt as she took her back. "So you're still just going to go?!"

"If she's sick, she's sick. Whether I'm here or not isn't going to change that. I've got to get going."

"And what if I need to reach you?"

"My cell as long as I'm in France. But after tomorrow, I probably won't be reachable. I'll try and call and check on her alright?"

"You'll _try_?"

"I know she's going to be fine." Sydney's hand made one brief pat to the baby's back. "I'll see you in three days." Sydney headed out the door, pulling it closed solidly as she left.

Nadia sighed. Bristow finally quieted for the first time, taking deep breaths. The little girl rubbed her brown eyes with the back of her hand looked around as her bottom lip poked out pitifully.

Nadia ran a hand over the baby's wisps of sandy hair. She moved and sat down in a chair, trying to figure out whether to be mad Sydney still left or glad she was gone.

Bristow also seemed uncertain for a minute and then her face puckered and she started to wail again.

Nadia ran her fingers down the baby's cheeks and neck again and got out of the chair to get a thermometer. She administered some Tylenol that thankfully the baby seemed too tired to protest with more than whimpers and rocked her to sleep.

Nadia found herself just standing over the crib when she finally placed Bristow in it, watching the baby's small chest just rise and fall. She only moved away from it reluctantly when the phone rang to grab the cordless.

"Hey, gorgeous."

She pulled the baby's room door closed all but a crack and sat down on Sydney's bed to talk. "I'm not gorgeous right now. I'm just tired."

"What happened?"

"Sydney's on a trip."

"I know."

"And the baby's sick."

"How sick?"

"I don't know. Her fever was 102 or so. She won't eat. Her breathing sounded a little raspy to me when I laid her down."

"She'll bounce back. She's a tough little--"

Nadia bristled. "Don't do that. Don't be like her!"

It fell awkwardly silent on the other end.

She inwardly kicked herself. "I'm sorry, Eric. I just...I told Sydney that Bristow was sick before she left and she just told me Bristow was going to be fine. I know this is probably not life threatening, but I just couldn't take the way she acted like it didn't even matter. At least, not compared to the fact that she had to go."

"I was only trying to reassure you..."

"I know _you_ were...but Sydney, she's like this about everything. At least everything regarding Bristow. I tried to tell her a few months ago that I couldn't watch Bristow all the time just because I wanted her to be home more. Instead, she arranged things with her father and Carrie to give me some days off."

"We do love those days off."

Nadia smiled. "Yeah...I know, but Bristow's sleeping now and I can barely stand to be two feet away from her. I don't know how Sydney can bear leaving her all the time. I don't know if I understand her at all anymore. She's been so different since...since I woke up." Nadia moved backed to the wall beside the cracked open door.

Eric sighed. "Losing Vaughn changed...well, everything. Especially her." He was silent a moment. "I think it changed all of us. I can't say I don't wish I was halfway around the world tracking his killers. I'm doing everything I can from here and going out when we have a lead. But I know it's different for her. I know she's got leads she's not sharing, contacts she can't or won't reveal. And I just see it…"

"…in her eyes," Nadia finished, sitting down on the floor outside the baby's room.

"Yeah," he confirmed. "Just something. It's been there since the funeral. Determination. Fear. Pain. Maybe a mixture of all three."

"I know. When I…when I make her hold the baby it just…fills her whole face for a minute and then her eyes go…empty." Nadia shivered. "It scares me, Eric. I want to be angry at her and then she gets that look and I'm just scared for her. And I don't…don't know what to do."

"When it happened, we didn't know how to help her. We didn't know how to reach her. I don't know if she really cried for him at first. She was always at work, and sometimes she'd seem close but, you could just tell she was never going to let it go in front of us. And I don't know if she did at home either. It was just such a shock."

"I wish I could have been there for her then." Nadia leaned into the wall.

"Hey, you had no control over that. And you're there now."

"No, I'm not. We both live here but, I barely see her. And when I do…I wish she'd use that time for Bristow instead of me."

"Nadia, Bristow's important but it doesn't mean you and Sydney can't still be..."

"Sisters…friends…? Before my coma, I want to think we were that. But now we've both changed so much, we're practically strangers."

"So, start over."

"You say that like it's easy."

"We managed," Eric responded.

"No, we picked up where we left off," Nadia responded, with a grin.

"It was a good spot."

Nadia bit her lip shyly. "Mmm."

"Hey, so what am I bringing over for dinner?"

"Dinner was hours ago."

"And did you eat it?"

"Bristow was—"

"Exactly. How about chicken?"

"Okay, but you don't have to--."

"I'll be there in about a half hour. I'm almost done with this report."

"Okay. Eric?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

* * *

"Nadia! Nadia?"

She couldn't even answer him, as she was certain he'd follow the sound of the water and the baby's choked wails.

There came a tap on the bathroom door. "Nadia, I'm sorry I'm late. I tried to call but ...The computer kept eating my report and then the chicken place was all out of legs...and I..." He pushed it open a crack and looked down at her, knelt beside the bathtub. "Nadia, are you okay?"

Nadia brushed a stringy hair from her face, the humidity of the bathroom having dampened her face. She almost couldn't look away from Bristow's reddened face to look at him.

"Hey, hey, what is it? Is she okay?" He knelt down on the floor beside her.

"Almost as soon as I got off the phone with you she woke up from her nap just screaming. I couldn't soothe her and her heart was just beating so fast and her breathing, it sounded so horrible I didn't know what else to do. I came in here and turned on the shower." Nadia blinked and hugged the baby closer. "I think...I think she sounds better...but she won't stop."

Weiss ran a hand over the baby's head. "Give her here," he said gently.

Nadia raised her eyes to him questioning.

"It's okay," he said.

She lifted the baby up carefully handed her to him.

He sat the baby upright against his shoulder, nuzzling her head under his chin and rubbed her back with just two fingers. He looked at her. "Okay, now take a break."

"What?"

"Take a break," he said with a grin. "Eat something."

"Eric..."

"Nadia, I've got her. Go." He looked at her. "You can come back in oh a half hour. But I want you to have a full thirty minute break that had better include moderately greasy food. Out."

His tone was light but he gave her a serious look and she backed out of the bathroom. She couldn't help but stand there a minute and was relieved the cries lessen a little to choky wails. She ate the food but she didn't taste it. She tidied the house to pass the time finally using the last few minutes to warm a bottle before peeking into the bathroom again.

She held it out to him. "I thought, she might take it now." It was so quiet; she came forward.

Wide brown eyes stared back at her from his arms. Bristow looked so rightfully content and secure in his embrace. He took the bottle carefully. Bristow reached for it immediately, pulling it away from him and angling it into her mouth.

"She's a big girl now, feeding herself?" Eric realized.

Nadia smiled half-hearted. "Sydney had her doing that at barely five months."

He nodded. "Better?" he inquired of her.

"Yes, thank you."

They were quiet a moment as the little girl ate.

Eric finally broke the silence. "Any time you need help with her, Nadia, you know I'm happy to."

Nadia frowned. "I just hate passing her off. Sydney does that to her so much. I don't want to do it too."

"It doesn't mean you can't take a break. And I like to think we make a pretty good team." The half-finished bottle slid from the baby's grasps and he moved to put it back and paused. "Now, look at that."

Bristow eyes were closed and she was breathing even.

Nadia smiled. "We do make a good team."

"We better get her highness to her royal bed chamber." He got up from the floor.

Nadia followed him the crib, tucking the blanket around the baby after he'd put Bristow down. As soon as they were out the baby's room, she touched his arm. When he turned to look at her, her lips pressed firmly to his.

He pulled back slowly. "Reward for a job well done?"

She looked him in the eye. "I love you, Eric."

His expression flashed a near whoa expression and then his ears reddened. "I love you too. I have...for awhile, I just didn't want you to think I was saying it to..."

"I've known. I could see it, every time you looked at me. I went into a coma and I woke up and everyone was different...except you. I don't think I trust anyone else in my life more than I trust you right now. And I love you for... for being here right now. You always seem to know when I need you."

He embraced her. "How do you know it's not I who need you?"

"Can it be both?" she questioned.

"Sure. It's probably better if it is." He relaxed his arms around her.

"Wait." She leaned into him.

He hugged her against him and kissed her temple. "What is it?"

"Just hang on tight please. I need to feel...that."

"You got it," he answered simply.


	6. Chapter 6

**SIX**

"Sydney! Sydney, look."

Nadia released the ten-month old's fingers and Bristow stood with wobbly parted legs for almost two seconds before falling back into Nadia's arms.

Nadia grinned. "Good girl, Bris," she cooed, applauding the baby.

Bristow grinned back at her proudly, flashing her eight white teeth. She clapped once for herself, then moved her fingers into her mouth drooling around them and crawling across the floor towards the pile of toys in front of the couch.

Nadia got up and walked over to the counter where Sydney was making notes on some paperwork. "Sydney, did you see?"

Sydney glanced over at her daughter and nodded.

Nadia smiled. "She is going to be walking soon."

Bristow pulled herself into a standing position beside the couch and began tossing her soggy toys on it, babbling quietly to herself.

"Everything's been babyproofed since she started crawling," Sydney responded, not looking up. "She won't be able to get into much trouble."

Nadia sighed, eyeing the papers. "I thought you weren't working today."

"I'm almost done."

Nadia placed her hand on Sydney's writing hand. "Then, you can finish it later."

Sydney's pen slowed and she looked up at her sister. "Okay, you're right." She closed up the folder and put down her pen.

"It's taken you over two months since I asked to really find a day to set aside. I don't want today clogged up with anything else. I want to be able to talk to you."

"We talk almost everyday," Sydney laughed.

"But only about everyday things. I feel like I don't know anything about _you_ anymore." Nadia sat down at the counter. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. Maybe a little tired. How about you?"

Nadia sighed, having hoped for a more detailed response. "I'm okay."

Sydney swallowed and started to make an effort. "I've noted you've been using the days off from watching Bristow for a lot of gym time. Thinking about going back to work?"

Nadia shook her head. "No. I've just wanted to be in shape. I go for runs at night sometimes. Before, I knew I wasn't prepared to defend myself if anything should happen. I like being confident again that I am."

"We should go for a run together on the mornings I'm home," Sydney suggested.

"We can bring Bristow in the stroller," Nadia answered with a grin.

Sydney shrugged. "Or get someone to watch her."

Nadia hesitated. "Can we talk about Bristow...honestly?"

Sydney glanced over at the girl again, who sat down and pulled herself back up grippng the coffee table.

"I know you're going to feel like I'm attacking you, but I still worry, that you don't seem to have any time for her."

Sydney got off the stool and walked over to behind the couch, watching her baby. "I know it seems like that now. And maybe it's true, but what I'm doing right now is important, for her future and mine."

"And raising her isn't?" Nadia came up behind her sister.

"Of course it's important, and I do what I can. But look at her," Sydney responded.

Bristow realized she was being watched and glanced up at the two of them. She stuck her thumb in her mouth, blinking as though uncomfortable somehow.

"She's fine, Nadia. She's healthy. She's growing and developing right on schedule. Really, she's not even going to remember how busy I was when she was this small. It's why I try so hard to get everything done. When it's finished, I can spend as much time with her as I want."

"But, Sydney, what about what you're missing?"

"You take a million pictures, Nadia," Sydney reminded. She gestured to the framed pictures of Bristow that covered the mantle, coffee tables and walls. "And you're always telling me what she's up to. I don't really think that I'm missing all that much."

"But you are..." Nadia trailed off. "Does it...does it bother you to look at her?" She paused. "Because of Vaughn?"

Sydney straightened. "She barely looks like him."

"You know what I mean. I don't ever hear you talk about him in regards to her or vice versa."

Nadia could see it coming. Sydney's face mutated through several expressions before settling on distant. Sydney's eyes drifted over to Bristow.

"Sometimes...I look at her around the house...playing...sleeping..." Sydney sighed. "I picture him there. Holding her, playing on the floor with her, tucking her in. She should have that. She should have...him." Sydney shook her head. "She won't ever have that. And then all I can be is angry that he was taken away from her. It's unfair that the people who did this are still out there. I just know that that's what important right now. Doing whatever I can to change that." Sydney sniffled and blinked glassy eyes until the tears cleared, but never fell.

Nadia swallowed. She moved around the couch, sat down and took Bristow in her lap. "Are you ever going to tell me why?" she asked. "Why you named her Bristow? I know you were so busy during the pregnancy amd I suppose you and Vaughn never got discuss..."

"Actually," Sydney began, "we had. We chose names when he was in the hospital, after he was shot. The only one we both agreed on was Isabelle. Isabelle Bristow-Vaughn, he decided. The whole pregnancy I knew if it was a girl, that was going to be her name."

Nadia looked down at the baby confusion and then back up at her sister. "Why didn't you name her that?"

Sydney moved and sat in the chair. "In the hospital, I got the paperwork and I was supposed to write a name and I kept seeing him lying there. We had...we had this hope then. Maybe it was ridiculous but for that moment, when we picked that name, I really thought he was going to be okay. That Isabelle was a baby he was going to get to see and we were going to get to raise together. But when she was born, he was gone, Nadia. Isabelle could never exist." Sydney looked at her daughter a moment. "And when I dropped that, Bristow Vaughn was what was left."

Bristow leaned back against Nadia's chest, still sucking her thumb anxiously.

Nadia ran her fingers through the baby's soft hair sandy brown hair that had grown into baby curls at the girl's neck. "She should still have you, Sydney. She needs you."

"She should be safe," Sydney responded. "I thought about children with Vaughn, but I know he thought as I did: We would do it, when it was safe." Sydney's expression darkened. "I didn't get to plan this. I didn't get to plan...her. It's not even close to being safe and I can't _just _be a mommy right now." She blinked hard. "She's all I have left of him, Nadia. And if I just sit back, if I let my guard down for a second, I could lose her to them too."

"We won't let anything happen to her," Nadia assured her sister.

Bristow sat up in Nadia's lap and looked between them.

"I know. I know she's always safe with you." Sydney reached out and touched the child's arm ever so lightly.

It was silent a minute.

Sydney pulled her hand back and finally flashed a smile. "So, are you ever going to tell me what's up with you and Eric?"

"He's just perfect," Nadia responded, a shy smile crossing her face. She tickled her niece and Bristow's thumb popped out of her mouth and she giggled. She twisted and Nadia let the little girl slide off her lap gently until Bristow was standing holding onto her leg.

"Anything else?" Sydney asked, her eyes focused entirely on her sister.

"I love him. He loves me. And it feels like it should feel so much more complicated than that but it's not. It's just the way things are. I don't know what I'd do without him." Nadia trailed off at the vacant look that had over taken her sister's face. "Sydney, I'm sorry."

Sydney forced a small smile. "You know, I think we need some groceries. I'm going to run to the store."

"We can all go," Nadia started, standing up. "Or I can...or--"

"No, relax."

Nadia's eyes widened just slightly to see Sydney bend over and pick up the baby.

"I'm just going to take her with me. We'll be back in about in an hour."

Nadia sat back. "Okay."

"Okay," Sydney repeated as she hoisted the girl to one hip and grabbed her purse.

Bristow looked at her mother uncertainly and her thumb went back in her mouth.

Nadia watched them disappear out the door.

* * *

Nadia pulled her third load of clothes out of the washer and shoved them into the dryer. It seemed like Bristow was light on toys but the abundance of clothes the baby had was overwhelming. Nadia took her laundry basket of clothes still radiating heat from the dryer and carried them out of the laundry room and into the living room to fold.

She almost tripped on her way over the couch, but caught herself. The sudden jerk made her vision blur momentarily. She shook her head. It had been a nonstop day of chores and cleaning. Sydney told her she didn't have to do nearly as much as she did, but Nadia felt like she should do her part considering she wasn't bringing in any income to help with bills. Still, Sydney felt watching Bristow more than covered it.

Her own expenses were covered by a modest monthly deposit into her bank account from her father. She hadn't wanted it, but she only been able to talk him into reducing the amount to modest. There was no talking him out of giving her the money.

She sat back in the chair after folding half the basket and leaned over sideways on the couch. She needed a power nap.

The sound of the dryer buzzer is what woke her. She looked at her half a pile of laundry still in the basket and sighed. She didn't even know how late it was. She gathered up the folded clothes quickly and made a quick dash into Sydney's room, going to drop them off and grab the other basket.

The clothes tumbled from her hands. She could see a shadow in the baby's room! She surreptitiously grabbed a weapon from a box Sydney kept on the shelf and stalked towards the room. The figure leaned over the crib.

Nadia cocked her weapon and kicked open the door. "Get away from her!"

The figure straightened slowly, hands lifted passively.

"Get away from her!" Nadia ordered again.

"I would never hurt her, Nadia."

"Mama..." Nadia lowered her weapon.

Irina turned around slowly and lowered her hands.

Nadia blinked, tears coming her eyes. "What are you...when did you...Mom?" She deposited the gun on the nearby table just before her mother moved forward and embraced her tightly.

Nadia returned the embrace shakily. "Mom..." she repeated.

When Irina finally stepped back, she placed a hand to her daughter's cheek lovingly and just looked her in the eyes as if committing everything about her to memory. "I've missed you."

Nadia swallowed. "What are you doing here?"

Irina turned back towards the crib. "I thought I'd watch you from outside, as I have so many times in the past year and a half. But when I saw the opportunity to see my granddaughter up close...I'm sorry I frightened you."

Nadia nodded, slowly. "You've been watching me?"

"When I heard you were finally awake, all I wanted was to see you. Your hospital room was too well guarded, but the day you came home, I was watching from across the street. As I was the day, you and Sydney brought Bristow home."

"I wish I'd known. And I wish Sydney was here now to see you too."

Irina's eyes narrowed. "How is she?"

Nadia frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"

"She's been under so much stress since Vaughn's passing. In my correspondence with her--"

"You've been in contact with her?"

"She sought me out. She wanted help to find any information, any leads that could give her insights into who'd done it and why it happened. Our contact has been intermittent, mainly phone calls, emails. She never mentioned it?"

"No." Nadia shook her head.

"It has been formal, except when she would send me pictures of Bristow." Irina's lips mutated to a brief smile. "She's hesitant to say anything about her own well-being."

Nadia shrugged a little. "Sydney's good, I suppose. Just very busy."

Irina raised an eyebrow. "You can't tell for sure, can you?"

Nadia's eyes lowered. "I see so little of her. And when we talk, she's always somewhat guarded. We had a good conversation a couple months ago. She still misses Vaughn very much."

Her mother's head tilted towards the crib. "And how is she with the baby?"

Nadia hesitated only a moment. "She always makes sure Bristow has everything she needs."

"And you?"

Nadia smiled. "She's my niece, I love her. And she's such a good baby."

"How are you, physically?" Irina eyed her curiously. "Have there been side effects from your exposure to the water or the treatment since your recovery?"

She shifted. "Nothing serious." Eric was the only one she'd told about the numbness and increased need for pressure in order to feel sensation.

Her mother looked suspicious.

A wail from the crib saved Nadia from the inevitable question.

Immediately, Irina's entire attention focused on the one-year-old in the crib.

The baby whimpered before her eyes opened. "_Tia. Tia._"

Irina formed a sideways smile and looked at Nadia as the baby continued to call the spanish word for aunt. Then, her expression was almost accusatory. "She calls for you."

Nadia moved towards the crib. "I'm the one who's always here."

"May I?" Irina questioned.

Nadia wasn't sure how Bristow might react, but Irina was her grandmother. She nodded once.

Irina brushed a finger against the baby's cheek to get Bristow to open her eyes before lifting the baby from the crib and into her arms. She hugged the child securely. Bristow looked at her wide eyed, her bottom lip poking out and trembling.

"It's okay, it's okay," Nadia reassured, rubbing the little girl's back.

Bristow looked at her and then back at Irina. She uncertainly stuck her thumb in her mouth and studied Irina. Irina studied the baby just as intently.

"She looks like Sydney, doesn't she?" Nadia said quietly.

"She's beautiful," Irina responded.

Bristow lay a tired head on Irina's shoulder, keeping her eyes open and focused on Nadia.

Nadia couldn't take her eyes off the two of them. There was something so right about watching her mother hold a baby and so strange at the same time. It was her mother and yet it was Irina Derevko, a name hardly associated with such gentleness. She felt tears coming to her eyes again. "I missed you."

Irina moved forward and kissed her daughter's forehead, gently slipping Bristow into Nadia's arms. "Take good care of her. We'll see each other again soon."

The tears blurred her vision as her mother disappeared into the shadows. For a moment, she still felt her mother's presence in the room.

And then, she knew Irina was gone.

Nadia kissed the top of Bristow's head and sat down on Sydney's bed, gently rubbing the little girl's back until she fell back to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**SEVEN**

Bristow on knees and palms made it up the steps towards the front door, then grinned proudly and moved to stand just in front of the door.

"Bris…we already went outside. Don't you want to do something else?" Nadia asked from her seat at the counter. She was munching half a turkey sandwich that she'd originally attempted to the share with the girl.

This was Bristow's third trip up to the door in ten minutes. Somehow, despite being a quiet baby, it didn't seem to make her any less stubborn.

"We're going to the park just as soon as Eric gets here. You can't wait until then?" Nadia asked.

Bristow turned back around and looked at her with pitiful puppy eyes, one pouting bottom lip, and the unmistakably cute, single thin pony tail on the top of her head. The rest of her face framed by wispy sandy blond hair.

Nadia took one last bite of her sandwich. "Mommy didn't take you outside at all when she had you yesterday, did she?"

Bristow looked at the door hopefully, seeing Nadia was near it.

"Okay, okay." Nadia grabbed one of the little girl's balls off the floor and opened the door.

The yard was already littered with the toys they'd left from the morning that Nadia intended to gather and take with them to the park. Two more balls were in the grass, along with a small child's riding toy in the shape of a little blue car. A red metal wagon sat on the sidewalk.

Nadia released the ball to bounce down the walk and little girl giggled and chased after it, attempting to roll it back, though it detoured into the grass. Nadia kicked it back to Bristow gently who bent over, hugged the ball to her and started to run off with it.

"Bris! Not too far!"

Bristow stopped immediately and grinned. She started to run back towards Nadia as fast as her little legs could carry her and less than a foot away threw the ball past her aunt and send it rolled far down the sidewalk.

"Good throw!" Nadia praised. "Now don't go anywhere, I have to grab it." She backed up the first two steps, making sure Bristow was staying put.

The little girl wandered over towards the little blue car toy.

Nadia did a quick jog towards the ball, glancing back every so often, seeing Bristow climb into the red wagon and sit down. A wind picked up starting to blow the plastic ball even further away just as Nadia was reached for it. She turned back around her eyes widening to see the little girl standing up in the wagon.

"Bristow, sit down!" she ordered, making one last grab for the ball, grasping onto it and starting to walk back.

Bristow grinned at her stomping her feet and clapping with delight. The wagon rolled forward abruptly. Bristow tumbled backwards out of the wagon.

"Bristow! Sit—" Nadia broke into a run down the sidewalk.

There was a sickening SMACK! of bone colliding with concrete.

Nadia's heart slammed and she gasped for air. "BRISTOW!"

The little girl's prone figure was barely visible behind the wagon and it was deadly silent.

"Bristow…Bris…" Nadia shoved the wagon out of her way and fell to the ground beside her niece.

The little girl's eyes were open and rapidly overflowing with tears that streamed from them in rivers. Her entire face was red and her mouth was straining wide open in a silent scream.

Tears cascaded down Nadia's own cheeks and she gasped when she tried to breathe. "Bris...Brissy...breathe."

A terrifying shriek tore out of the child's throat, so high pitched it was nearly hoarse. She inhaled deeply, her mouth still wide open as more piercing shrieks erupted from her.

Nadia touched the rigid little girl carefully, afraid to move her. Her hands carefully felt the child's neck, as Bristow continued to shriek. Nadia's stomach lurched as she felt warm wetness at the back of the girl's head. She pulled her tremblings fingers back, and they were gruesomely crimson.

"No..nonononono..." She fought to breath.

"Nadia?!"

She looked up at Eric, gasping for air. She'd totally forgotten he was coming. His eyes were wide as he took in the scene, especially when they zeroed in on Nadia's bloody hand.

"The..first...aid..."

"Got it!" Eric ran into the house.

Bristow started trying to move, trying to get up, still screaming.

Nadia's eyes dropped back to her hand and then to Bristow's face. "It's okay...it's..."

Bristow's shrieks suddenly stopped and her eyes started to roll back, her eyelids fluttering.

"No!" It was Nadia's turn to shriek. "Bristow! Bristow!"

Eric tore out of the house the kit in one hand gauze in the other. The blood was staining the sidewalk. He sucked in air as he pressed it to the child's head. "We have to get her to a hospital! Into my car, now!"

Nadia held the gauze in place as he scooped the girl up carefully. They quicked walked to his car, Nadia climbed into the backseat, holding Bristow in her lap. He slammed the door and climbed up front, pulled out of the space so far his tires squealed.

Her vision blurred as the tears continued down her cheeks. She could feel blood soaking through her gauze and then her pant leg, but she kept the pressure on it. "Bris...Brissy..." she whispered, praying the child would respond to something.

Eric parked the car in an emergency space and the two of them carried the girl in the emergency room doors. "We need some help over here!"

The receptionist's eyes widened and instantly nurses were surrounding them, and getting the toddler onto a bed.

"What's her name?" one questioned.

Nadia trembled as they forced her backwards and blocked her view of her niece. "Bristow Vaughn."

"How old is she?"

Doctors and more nurses swarmed the bed and began wheeling it down the hall away from them.

"A year...sixteen months!"

"How did this happen?"

"She fell off a wagon and hit the sidewalk..." Nadia literally couldn't feel the floor beneath her. "It won't stop bleeding and she won't open her eyes...she was awake and now she won't open her eyes!" She fell backwards and didn't even know why she stopped until she turned her hand to see Eric holding onto her. His arms were wrapped around her and she couldn't feel them. She grasped onto his arms with her hands, squeezing tight. She saw her knuckles whiten and realized she had to be gripping hard enough to cause him pain but she felt nothing between her fingers.

His cheek fell against her own numb one and he began whispering in her ear. "She's going to be okay, Nadia."

The bright lights faded in and out on her and she started to shake her head, frantically. She tried to pull away from him but she couldn't even be certain her feet touched the floor.

Her quiet mumble was the only sound she could hear. "Nonononono..." He moved backwards and they both sat down on a nearby bench.

A receptionist approached them. "You need to feel out some paperwork. Now, you're the child's parents?"

"I'm her aunt, this is a close friend." Nadia's eyes widened. "I have to call Sydney!"

The receptionist looked confused as Nadia ripped a cellphone from her pocket.

"Her mother's out of the country," Eric explained.

Nadia pressed the phone against her ear, sniffling as it rang again and again. "She's not...she's not answering. How can she not answer at a time like this?" Nadia flung her cellphone to the floor and buried her face in her hands.

"What about the child's father?" the receptionist questioned.

"He's dead," Nadia whimpered.

"Alright, right now we can give as much emergency treatment as it's going to take to get her stable. But do you have any forms giving you legal authorization to make medical decisions in her mother's absence? Something signed by her mother?"

Nadia shook her head, numbly.

The receptionist sighed. "Fill out these forms as best you can, alright. And please, we need to keep trying to reach her mother."

Nadia scribbled on the paper filling in the information angrily. Eric dialed Sydney's cellphone over and over again on the payphone and other numbers via APO.

"Anything?" Nadia questioned.

Eric shook his head. "APO doesn't know where she is. Whatever assignment she's on, they didn't send her on it," he responded.

Nadia held her hands to her pounding head. "I let this happen. She was right there in front of me. I should have left that stupid ball and just gone and grabbed her."

He placed an arm around her. "Nadia, don't."

She sat back, leaning against him. Her eyes stared at the dried red spot on her pant leg. "There was so much blood, Eric..." She shut her eyes tightly and started to sob into his chest.

He didn't leave her side. The minutes ticked by and he didn't even offer to go on a coffee run which was particularly unusual as he had seemed to consider the liquid essential to surviving a crisis. But he was the one who pointed out the doctor finally approaching them.

"You're Bristow's aunt?" he confirmed.

She nodded, worriedly.

He held out a hand. "I'm Dr. Lofton." He smiled.

She shook it once. "Is she going to be..."

"We've gotten the bleeding to stop. She did require some stitches. Our x-rays on her neck and spine all came back normal. Now, there does appear to be a linear skull fracture. It's common after these type of injuries, especially in children. At this point, we're the most concerned about watching the swelling. We're admitting her for observation and we will need to do more tests. We're getting her a room upstairs in our Pediatrics ward right now. We're going to give her plenty of fluids and at this point, she just needs to rest."

"Is she awake?"

"She woke up shortly after got the bleeding to stop, but she's resting again now. I can take you up to her room. She should just be getting settled." Dr. Lofton smiled, reassuringly. "This way."

Nadia held Eric's hand as they followed the doctor into the elevator and up to Pediatrics.

"She's right in here," Dr. Lofton pointed to the crib.

Nadia bent over to look at the little girl and sniffled. Bristow looked so small and her veins were oddly visible through her pale skin. Her eyes seemed sunken and dark. She was laying on her stomach, her head to the side, so the bandage on the back of her head was clearly visible.

"Bris..." Nadia whispered, gently.

A part of her didn't want to wake the toddler and yet she wanted Bristow to know she was there.

Nadia patted the child's back lightly. Bristow's eyes fluttered once and her face crumpled, pained. Nadia just continued patting until Bristow's eyes closed again.

"Has there been any success in trying to reach her mother?" the doctor questioned.

Nadia shook her head. "Not yet."

Dr. Lofton nodded. "Anyway, you are welcome to stay with her in here. Are there any questions?"

"She's going to be okay?" Nadia asked, hesitantly.

"With head injuries, it's difficult to say at first. We'll see what the rest of the tests say, and we'll definitely know more depending on how much swelling there is in another twenty-four to forty-eight hours." Dr. Lofton smiled. "But from everything we've seen so far, she's a tough little girl. I think we'll be seeing a full recovery. Excuse me."

Nadia sat down in a chair beside the crib as the doctor headed out of the room. A curtain separated them from nurses, other nearby cribs, beeping monitors and crying children.

"I'm staying here tonight," she said.

"Of course," Eric responded. "We both will. I can go back to the house and pick up some clothes for you, for her."

"Can you get her blanket from her crib? And that stuffed bunny." Nadia rubbed the child's tiny hand through the bars. "And some of her diapers. She usually breaks out in a rash from other brands."

"I'll just shrink her whole nursery, put it in a bag and bring it here," Eric said, with a grin.

Nadia couldn't even manage a smile in return.

He frowned, worried. "I can wait a bit. I could go on a coffee run first."

Nadia shrugged. "Look at her," she whispered. "She was so scared."

"We all were," he responded.

"She has to be okay. I will never forgive myself if she's not okay."

Eric took Nadia's free hand and rested another on her cheek. "She is going to be okay." He nodded at her and she nodded back. He kissed her gently. "I'll be back in an hour, probably less."

He got up and headed out of the ward.

Nadia turned back towards Bristow, watching the child sleep.

Forty-five minutes later, she was drooping in the chair as footsteps approached. "Eric?" She straightened. "Jack. What are you--?"

Jack Bristow scrutinized both her and his granddaughter with narrowed eyes. "I was at APO when I was told Bristow was in the hospital and Sydney needed to be contacted. What happened?"

Nadia sighed apologetically. "I should have called you. I'm sorry. I haven't been able to think about anything but her."

Jack bent over the crib. "What are her injuries?"

"A skull fracture, some swelling. She was bleeding and needed stitches. They're keeping her here for observation. We still haven't been able to reach Sydney."

"How did this happen?" he necessitated.

Nadia raised her eyes to his slowly. "She fell out of a wagon. Her head hit the cement."

"You were there?" he confirmed.

"We were at home, just playing outside."

"Weren't you watching her?" he questioned, harshly.

Nadia blinked hard. "It happened right in front me. I tried to stop it. I tried to catch her. I just couldn't get over there fast enough and then, she was on the ground."

Jack glared at her and turned his attention back towards the crib.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"And where is Sydney?" he demanded.

"I don't know. I thought she was assignment for APO. But if not, I don't know."

"This shouldn't have happened," he snapped.

Nadia flinched. "I know."

"Hey!"

Nadia glanced up to see Eric coming back into the ward, duffel bags in hand.

"This is not her fault," Eric told Jack, with a frown.

"Eric, don't--" Nadia shook her head head.

"She was the only one there," Jack responded.

Eric dropped the bags beside Nadia's chair. "Kids get hurt. I don't know how bumped up I probably got as a kid. It just happens."

Jack looked unconvinced. "Which is why when watching a child, you must be watching them closely at all times. Sydney left Bristow in her care specifically so she can care for her needs and prevent injury."

"She did her best!" Eric countered.

Jack glared at him. "That obviously wasn't enough." He turned away. "I'd like to speak to the doctor myself."

Eric stepped aside, glad to see him go. He knelt beside Nadia's chair. "You can't listen to him. He's just looking for somebody to blame."

Nadia didn't look at him, and she didn't respond.

Eric sighed. "Hey, look, I brought everything I could fit." He opened the duffel.

Nadia took Bristow's blanket and spread it over the little girl.

_"Tia...Tia..."_ Bristow mumured.

Nadia took the little girl's hand. "I'm right here."

* * *

"Careful of the steps, Nadia."

"Eric, I'm fine."

"Do you want me to give you a hand?"

"Shh, you're going to wake her up. And I already don't know how we're going to get her to rest now that she's home."

Eric dropped the bags beside the counter. "Aren't you tired of sleeping in that chair?"

Nadia shifted, hugging the toddler tighter. "Yes, two nights it the hospital was more than enough. I'm glad to be out of there."

She moved through Sydney's room and placed Bristow in her crib. She covered up the girl and left the room leaving both the baby's room and Sydney's room open. She paused just as she re-entered the living room.

"I'm going to be checking on her every hour, I know it," Nadia said. "The whole time she was in the hospital, she was just so still all the time, I always had to look twice to see if she was breathing."

She finally moved from the doorway and sat down on the couch. He joined her.

"It's late, don't you have work tomorrow?" she questioned.

He shrugged. "I'll get there."

She frowned at him. "Eric, you need to rest."

"So should you."

She shook her head. "I have a patient to check on every hour."

He looked her in the eye. "See, as long as I'm here, you could make it every other hour. I'll take a shift checking on the patient."

"Eric."

"Nadia."

"Get some rest."

"You first," he responded, pecking her on the lips.

She shook her head at him. "We argue like an old married couple."

He chuckled. "Maybe that's what we should be."

"Old?" she laughed.

"No, married," he responded with a grin.

She blinked, her laughter stopping abruptly. "Are you serious?"

He stopped grinning to look at her straight-faced. "Yeah, I am. I've been thinking about it for weeks, probably months. I didn't mean to ask like that but as long as it's out there…." He looked at her face uncomfortable with her silence. "And you hate it don't you. You think it's a dumb idea and I shouldn't have mentioned it. I'm sorry." He started to get up. "You're right, it's late."

She grabbed his arm. "Eric, Eric, wait."

"What?"

"It's not a dumb idea. I want to marry you."

He looked down at her. "Now you're just saying—"

She stood up, and looked him in the eye. "No, I'm not. I've thought about it too. Things have just been so crazy—"

"Exactly."

"And I still don't know when we're ever going to have the time to plan a wedding, but… I don't care." She smiled at him. "I do want to marry you and spend my life with you, and have kids with you and whatever else you want…I want it too."

"Okay," he agreed, seriously.

"Okay," she repeated, softly.

He grinned. "I think we're engaged now." He leaned towards her face, looking at her so intently.

"Mmm." She stared back at him.

His lips pressed to hers gently and she pressed her own back firmly, forcing sensation. She wrapped her arms around him, and he embraced her securely. They had only started to approach a need for air when Nadia pulled away.

"What is it?"

"I think I hear the baby," she responded.

He let his hands drop from her. "Go check."

"You don't mind?"

"It's okay. We have the rest of our lives now."

She smiled, shyly. "Yeah, we do." She headed into Bristow's room.

The little girl was curled up beneath her blanket, still and quiet. She backed out of the room, starting to close the door and looked up to see Weiss standing in Sydney's room.

"Is she okay?"

"Completely out," she confirmed, with a small smile. She leaned in to kiss him again but he pulled back slightly

"Nadia?"

"Yeah?"

"You were serious about the kids, right?"

"Absolutely," she responded.

He caught her eyes in the most intense gaze. "You're going to be the best mom."


	8. Chapter 8

**EIGHT**

"Arms up!"

Bristow lifted her arms up above her head and Nadia pulled off the child's pajama shirt and put it on the couch beside them. She pulled a shirt gently over the little girl's head and arms. She had made sure it was quite loose so it didn't put any pressure on the child's head.

"There, all dressed," Nadia said, with a smile.

Bristow examined the green shirt, then turned and slid off the couch.

"Do you want a watch a movie after breakfast?" Nadia questioned.

"Uh huh," Bristow responded, hopefully.

Nadia smiled. Movies were one of the few ways to get the child to sit still and she was still trying to get the girl to rest. "Okay, come over here, so we can eat."

Nadia started towards the kitchen and Bristow scampered behind her. As she pulled open the refrigerator door, she heard the front door open and bags be dropped inside the door.

"Mommy," Bristow said, softly, before Nadia closed the refrigerator door to see for herself.

"Sydney! Where have you been?" Nadia demanded, setting the milk down on the counter.

"Hey. I know I said two days, but something came up." Sydney closed the front door and picked her bags up.

"We've been trying to reach you. I've been calling you all week. I left you twelve messages," Nadia continued.

"I saw that, I haven't had the chance to listen to any of them." Sydney came down the steps.

"You didn't think they might be important?"

"I figured you were just wondering why I was late. And you always leave me plenty of messages if for no other reason than to give me a play-by-play of Bristow's day." Sydney tilted her head. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"We had an emergency!" Nadia snapped. "Bristow spent two days in the hospital."

Sydney's entire expression darkened. "She _what_?" Sydney glanced at the little girl standing in the kitchen. "What _kind_ of emergency?"

"She hit her head. She had stitches. She has a skull fracture! Where _were_ you?"

Sydney crossed the room picked Bristow up, turning the little girl's head to examine it none too gently. Bristow made a face and turned her head back the other way. "Hold still," Sydney ordered sternly, peeling back the bandage beneath the child's hair to examine the wound. Finally, she turned to her sister. "It looks like it's been taken care of. The doctors said she was going to be alright, didn't they?"

Nadia crossed her arms. "After two days of observation, they sent us home with instructions to watch her closely and that she get plenty of rest. But prior to that, we were all scared to death and we couldn't reach you."

Sydney deposited the child back on the floor of the kitchen. "I don't know what you think I could have done, Nadia. I was halfway around the world. I'm sure the doctors took good care of her. How did this happen?"

"She fell out of wagon and hit the sidewalk. If you'd bothered to pick up the phone, you would know that."

"She fell...? Wasn't anyone watching her?"

Nadia blinked and looked away.

Bristow's eyes darted between the two of them, sucking her thumb.

Sydney raised an eyebrow. "And you seriously want to blame me for this? I wasn't the one here, Nadia."

"That's just it, you never are."

"And that means you can just let my daughter fall down and crack her head open?"

"_I didn't _let _her fall!_" Nadia exploded. "I did everything I could to stop it!"

Sydney's eyes narrowed. "Well, that obviously wasn't enough."

Nadia's face puckered and she held her eyes wide open as the tears overflowed her eyelids and ran down her cheeks. She sat down on the barstool at the counter. She looked down to see her niece staring back at her with glassy eyes. Bristow started to lift her arms towards her.

Sydney snatched up the toddler before Bristow could get any closer to Nadia. "Maybe having you watch her _wasn't_ such a good idea."

_"Tia!_" Bristow leaned out of Sydney's arms towards her aunt, starting to cry.

Sydney held the girl firmly and stormed into her bedroom, slamming it behind her.

Nadia leaned over the counter, putting her head down. She buried her face and sobbed into her arms. Only when her own sobs finally eased could she hear Bristow's cries coming from Sydney's room. She didn't dare knock, but she couldn't bear to listen to her niece sound so upset.

Nadia tossed on her shoes and fled the house, going across the grass, up the walk and knocking on the apartment door.

The door opened immediately. "Hey!" Eric's large grin faded. "Have you been crying?" He stepped back. "Come in."

She took a deep breath and walked into his apartment.

"Did something happen? Where's Bristow?"

"She's with her mother." Nadia turned around to face him. "Look, I know that I told you I didn't know when we'd have time to plan our wedding but I changed my mind. I thought with Bristow and everything that I'd be too busy for awhile. I love her, but she's not mine and I can't put my whole life on hold to fit Sydney's schedule. I don't want to wait, Eric. I want to make time. I want us to get married as soon as possible."

"Nadia, are you sure?"

She nodded with certainty. "However much time as it takes to get a dress and invite a few friends, arrange some food and chairs in the front yard, that's what I want. It doesn't have to be complicated. I just want to start my life again. My life with you."

He walked over and hugged her. "I love you."

"I love you too," she whispered, brushing her lips against his.

He guided her over to the couch. "So, I think we have to make some phone calls. We have a million things to plan."

* * *

The sun was coming through the curtains, reddening her closed eyelids. She started to roll over, and bury her face in the pillow. She suddenly had the realization of how late in the day it had to be before the sun would be shining directing in her eyes. She rolled over and looked at the clock. It was after ten and she had an eleven o'clock appointment.

She shoved off the covers and flew into the bathroom for a speedy shower. Then, she quickly blow dried her hair, dressed, applied makeup, and simple earrings, before grabbing her purse and rushing out the door, closing the it securely.

She was halfway down the walk to her car before she realized, she'd left her car keys on her dressing table. She quick walked back to the unlocking the door quickly and letting it slam behind her. She re-entered her bedroom in a near jog, grabbed the car keys and spun to head back out the front door.

A whimper reached her ears.

She froze in place.

Another whimper, louder.

Nadia's mouth opened in a half gasp and she shook her head. _She didn't..._ Nadia turned towards Sydney's bedroom and approached it slowly.

In the month and half since their argument, Nadia had seen little of Bristow or Sydney. Sydney was home less than usual and the little girl was shipped off to Jack or Carrie's or Nadia assumed 24 hour drop-in daycare. Nadia had been allowed a few parting hugs and kisses if she happened to see Sydney and Bristow about to leave the house. The little girl was often packed up and left by the door as though a third piece of luggage while Sydney gathered her last minute things before they could leave.

Nadia ached to see the confusion in the child's eyes each time, as Bristow didn't seem to understand why she was now allowed so little time with her aunt. A few times Bristow would fuss and cling to her before they would leave. Sydney would sigh impatiently, mildly scold the child and then pull Bristow away and usher her out the door.

Nadia spent most of her days at Eric's apartment. They were painting and rearranging furniture, sorting through their belongings, boxing things for storage and moving many of her possessions. But it wasn't as if Nadia had to leave home to avoid Sydney. Sydney was rarely there.

Nadia pushed open the door to Sydney's room and found the baby's room door closed as well. She pushed it open.

_She did._

Bristow was standing her crib, clinging to the bars, her face red and wet from crying. Bristow actually forced back her cries, gasping as though surprised to finally be answered.

Her arms lifted and outstretched. "_Tia! Tia!_"

"Bris!" Nadia lifted the little girl immediately. The child sniffled and whimpered, burrowing into her as if she hadn't been held in days, though Nadia knew Sydney and the baby hadn't even been home the night before.

Bristow sniffled trying to catch her breath. "Mommy... Mommy..."

Nadia cuddled the child closer and kissed her head. "I don't know," she whispered. She pulled her cell phone from her pocket, and dialed her sister's number, shaking her head.

It rang and rang until it finally went to voicemail.

"Sydney? Sydney, where are you? Call me, alright?" She closed the phone and put it in her pocket.

Nadia's eyes went to the clock again and she kissed Bristow's cheek. "We have to get you dressed." It was a rushed event to get Bristow dressed, brushing her hair, putting together a diaper bag.

"Yum? Yum?" Bristow questioned as she followed her aunt from the bedroom.

Nadia filled a sippy cup of milk for the child. "I'll get you something more on the way." She picked up the little girl and locked up the house.

She was thankful she'd never removed the car seat from her car as it at least saved her a little time that she only had to strap Bristow into it. Chicken nuggets and French fries from a fast food place were Bristow's breakfast, the only stop Nadia made on her trip downtown.

She parked the car, brushed the crumbs from the child, threw her purse and the baby bag over one arm and balanced Bristow on her other hip as she walked briskly down the street and entered the tailor shop.

"Nadia," came a soft greeting.

"Hi, Dad, I'm sorry I'm late." Nadia greeted her father with a kiss on the cheek. Bristow clung to her and buried her face.

Sloane's eyes centered in on the child. "Is this…?"

Nadia had almost forgotten he'd never seen Bristow before, not up close. "Dad, this is Bristow." Nadia leaned her cheek against the baby. "Bris, this is my Dad. Do you want to say hello?"

Bristow wouldn't lift her head to even look at him.

"She's a little shy," Nadia explained.

An employee from the shop approached the door of them. "Are we ready?"

"Yes," Sloane confirmed.

The employee gave a mildly questioning look to the baby, as though concerned the small child was going to be messing up expensive fabrics. "This way," he finally said, leading them towards the back.

* * *

"How many?"

"Two adults, one toddler," Nadia told the hostess.

"This way."

Nadia held the little girl by the hand trying to get Bristow to walk ahead of her and stop clinging so tightly to her leg.

They were taken to garden table outside and a high chair was pulled up between the two chairs. Nadia secured Bristow in it before her father pulled out a chair for her. She sat and he moved to the seat across from her.

"I'm sorry I was running late today, but I think your tux is going to be perfect," Nadia said, with a smile, as she opened the menu.

"It's alright, Nadia. Did Sydney have an emergency?" Sloane questioned, giving the baby a sideways smile.

Bristow stuck her thumb in her mouth.

"Sydney always has something," Nadia responded, dryly.

Sloane stared at her.

Nadia shrugged. "What?"

"I'm simply surprised she allowed you to bring Bristow to an appointment with me."

Nadia lifted her menu towards her face. "I don't really want to talk about it right now."

Sloane was silent and a waitress came and took their orders, starting with Sloane's, before nodding towards Bristow.

"And for your little girl?" the waitress asked with a smile.

"The children's macaroni and cheese, please." Nadia handed over her menu. "And I'll just have water and the small house salad."

"Nadia, this lunch is my treat. Are you sure you're not hungry?" Sloane questioned.

"I'm sure," she answered and the waitress felt free to move away.

"Are you well?"

"I just have a lot on my mind," she answered, glancing at Bristow.

"The wedding," he responded, a hint of displeasure in his voice. "If you're having second thoughts..."

She looked him in the eye. "Dad, there are no second thoughts about the wedding. We've talked about this. I love Eric."

"It seems as though this event is being rushed," he answered. He sat back in his chair, and leaned to one side, resting his head on his elbow. "Is there a reason?"

Nadia met his penetrating stare. "I'm not pregnant. Things aren't rushed; they're just moving right along."

"And who is setting this particular...pace?" he questioned.

Nadia shifted as the waitress left waters on the table for them and walked away again. "I know what you're thinking, and the answer is honestly, I am. Eric is happy with whatever I decide and right now, I'm so eager to do this. This wedding is going to be start of the best part of my life. It's what I want. And I wish you could support that." She sighed.

Sloane sat forward and reached across the table and touched her hand. "I do support you, Nadia. Tell me what I can do help."

Nadia smiled. "It helps just knowing you're going to be there. I want you to be there."

Sloane nodded and smiled. "I will be."

"Yum?" came a small voice across the table, reminding everyone of her presence.

Nadia turned to Bristow. "Soon, baby. Just a few more minutes and we'll all eat."

"I see so much of Sydney in her," Sloane commented. "Having her must bring her so much comfort considering Vaughn's passing."

Nadia sipped her water distractedly.

* * *

Nadia jiggled the key out of the lock and pushed the door open, gesturing Bristow inside again.

"Read?" the little girl asked, holding up her new book.

"We can read it in just a minute." Nadia closed the door, and reached for the little girl's hand to help her down the steps.

"There you are!" Sydney exclaimed, emerging from her bedroom. "Where were you?"

"Where were you?" Nadia questioned. "I had appointments and errands all day. You could have checked with me before you left her here."

"I had an errand to run too. It was important. You were asleep."

Bristow walked over to the couch book in hand.

"You could have left me note, at least," Nadia responded, putting her purse down on the counter. "I had no idea she was here. I almost left the house without her."

Sydney gestured to the pad on the counter. "I was going to leave a note, I forgot."

"You forgot _her_ or the note?" Nadia questioned, accusing.

Sydney straightened indignantly. "Nadia, how can you ask that?"

"You had the door to her room closed as well as your own. I have no idea how long she was awake and crying in there before I finally heard her."

Sydney crossed her arms. "I was going to be right back."

"Well, I had no way of knowing that, and I had to be downtown to meet my father."

Sydney's eyes widened. "You took my daughter with you to see Sloane?"

Nadia sighed. "I didn't have any other option."

"Nadia! You know I don't want her around him."

"You didn't seem to want her around me either, but that didn't seem to stop you from leaving her with me the second it was convenient for you again."

"You seemed stressed that I left her with you for so long. I was trying not to repeat that."

"By barely letting me see her at all?" Nadia shook her head. "I was stressed because she got hurt and you weren't there. I love watching her. I didn't even mind bringing her with me today, but I would have liked a little warning."

"I should have left you a note, I know that. But you couldn't put off whatever your appointment with Sloane was about instead of letting him near Bristow?"

"He's my father. She was never in any danger. The appointment was important. And I was with her the whole time. And he loved getting to see her--"

"I'm sure he did. That doesn't change the fact that you completely disregarded the restrictions I gave you for my daughter's safety. I don't know what could _be_ more important than--"

"We were planning my wedding!" Nadia snapped.

Sydney blinked. "You're what?"

"My wedding," Nadia repeated, softly. "Eric and I are getting married."

"Since when?"

Nadia held up her hand and pointed to a ring. "He proposed over a month ago." He had returned with a ring a week after.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"When do I ever see you?" Nadia questioned. "I honestly didn't even know if you'd care."

"Of course, I care. You're my sister..."

"I'm your babysitter. You haven't regarded me as more than that in quite some time."

"You _volunteered _to watch her. And a second ago, you were complaining because I haven't let you. You're not making any sense. When is this wedding?"

"As soon as we get it together."

"Nadia," Sydney laughed. "You're not serious. Don't you want to be special? It takes time and planning--"

"Don't, Sydney. It is going to be the way Eric and I want it, and we don't want it to be too fancy. It's not about that for us. I don't know why it matters to you anyway. You won't be there."

"I'm not invited?"

"I didn't say that." Nadia looked away. "I just don't know the last time you've been home long enough or at the time you've planned to be."

"Things have just been particularly hectic, lately. But I want to be there, Nadia."

"I want Bristow there," Nadia responded, seriously. "I want her to be a flower girl."

"Okay," Sydney answered, with a light laugh. "I'm sure she'll look adorable."

"I mean it, Sydney. I want her there. I want her to be a part of it."

"Alright," Sydney replied with a shrug. "But she's not going to understand what's going on."

"She'll understand she got to wear a pretty dress and that she got a new uncle. And that her aunt was very happy."

"And that her aunt moved away. It'll be a wonderful experience for her," Sydney finished, sarcastically.

Nadia sighed and moved over to where Bristow was flipping through her book. She ran a hand over the child's hair. "Eric and I will be living right close by. I'll still be able to come over and watch her. She can visit us. I'm not abandoning her." Nadia paused. "Or you."

"So there's no reason you're rushing to get this done? The way things have been between us lately, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you're so eager to move out of here."

"Sydney, I'm not getting married just so I can get away from you. And this doesn't feel rushed to me. Maybe it is. But I lost six months of my life and I think you can understand how little you feel like putting your life on hold after something like that."

Sydney sighed. "I do understand, but I'm still going to miss you."

"I'll be barely two buildings away," Nadia answered, finally managing a smile. "And you need the space. Bristow's growing up. She needs more than that little baby's room. I don't think you'll be able to fit a regular bed or even a toddler bed in there. You could take your old bedroom back and give her yours. I'll help you decorate it."

Sydney forced a small smile, her eyes going glassy. Nadia stood still as her sister lifted her hand and looked at the ring. "You're getting married," Sydney whispered.

Nadia watched at her sister who suddenly looked incredibly delicate. "Syd..." She moved to hug her but Sydney stepped away.

"Do you...have any more appointments?" There was a tremor in Sydney's voice.

"Oh, no more today, but--" Nadia began.

"Can you keep her?" Sydney nodded towards Bristow. "Just...just for a few more hours?"

"Yeah," Nadia answered gently. "Sydney?"

But Sydney was backing away from her, gathering her purse and her keys.

Nadia hated to imagine her sister driving anywhere in such a state. "Sydney, wait."

"I need to go, Nadia," Sydney looked her in her in the eye, pleading.

"Where?"

Sydney hesitated, and then managed to get the words out, only sounding a little hoarse. "The cemetery." She held her expression a moment longer but her face was crumpling as she turned away and escaped out the front door.

Bristow looked up and towards the door as it slammed. "Mommy?"

Nadia glanced at the closed door before going and sitting down next to the little girl. "Mommy will be back in a bit. She just needs..." Nadia ran her fingers through her niece's thickening sandy blond hair. Sydney needed so many things. "She just needs to go see Daddy."

Bristow's head shot up and she looked at her aunt perplexed. "Dad...dy?" There was recognition in the word; Nadia knew the girl had seen pictures. But there was also disbelief, as if she knew actually seeing her father was quite impossible.

Nadia pulled Bristow into her lap, kissed the little girl's head and rested her chin on top of it. "Your daddy would have loved you so much, Bris." She snuggled the child closer. "I love you."

Bristow tilted her head up and kissed Nadia's cheek.

Nadia smiled. "Now, let's read this new book."


	9. Chapter 9

**NINE**

**Six Months Later**

The pressure of his arms around her was constant. She sometimes imagined that was the only thing that truly made her sleep through the night. Since her coma, there had never been a full uninterrupted night of rest for her. Not even exhaustion could completely purge the strange images that danced behind her eyes whenever they were closed, nor the intermittent chills of dreams she didn't--and didn't want to--remember. The weight of her own body in a bed wasn't enough sometimes, and the numbness while lying flat, left her with a near constant falling sensation.

But she'd slept soundly every night since moving into his apartment three months prior, just after their wedding. And every single night she slept in a bear hug of constant pressure. His arm curled around her both secure and protective, and best of all, tightly. Aware if she moved or even breathed funny, an odd contrast considering if she wasn't in the bed, he slept like a rock.

She rolled over to face him and the hand that had been draped over her own began massaging her back. She nuzzled her nose under his chin, and she felt him jerk at the sudden tickle of her hair. His eyes didn't open, but his head buried in her neck, brushing her with kisses he had to know were almost too gentle for her to feel as anything more than a tickle. She giggled and he moved up her cheek in pecks and she closed her eyes determined to feel full sensation.

Instead, she heard distracting thumps coming from the other room. Her eyes opened again and they sat up together, his arms staying wrapped around her. He ran a hand down his face tiredly.

"You know who it is," he stated, drowsily.

"It can't be...again," Nadia responded, looking at him.

"Can't it?" He kissed her and climbed out of bed. "You get the door. I'll make up the guest bed." He padded out of the room.

She sighed and tossed aside the covers, and followed the ever more persistent knocks to the door. She barely peeked through the peephole, then opened it and leaned against sleepily. "Hello, Sydney," she said with a yawn.

Sydney entered the apartment briskly. Bristow was in her arms in a light jacket and a duffle bag hung off Sydney's forearm. They were both soaked from the still pouring rain. "Clothes, some food." Sydney peeled the coat off the little girl and tossed it aside. "She's still in her pajamas; she should go right back to sleep."

Nadia nodded as the toddler was shoved into her arms. "Sydney, I thought you agreed that you weren't going to keep doing this. Prearranged, remember? That was our agreement. She stays over night here when it's prearranged." Nadia snuggled Bristow to her, able to feel that the pajamas were damp.

"I need to be in Spain in less than fourteen hours. I'm sorry," Sydney responded.

"Of course you are," Nadia answered with a nod as Eric emerged from the guest room.

Nadia handed Bristow to him and he cuddled the sleepy child to him and returned to the guest room to tuck her in.

"You're always sorry, Sydney. You were sorry when you left her with me to watch all day the day before my wedding i_and/i_ the day of when you couldn't make it. And you couldn't even return for two days after so that we had to postpone our honeymoon."

"How many times do I have to apologize for that?" Sydney straightened. "I reimbursed you on that resort deposit and gave you that trip to Australia. What more did you expect me to do?"

"Just give us some warning before you drop her off. Call us and tell us you're coming."

"Next time," Sydney answered, backing towards the door.

Nadia followed. "It's not good for her you know, being abruptly awakened in the middle of the night, dragged out of her bed and dropped off. She just turned two years old--"

"Nadia, I have to go. Yell at me all you want when I get back." Sydney opened the door to leave.

"And when is i_that/i _going to be?" Nadia questioned.

Sydney made a face. "I'll call you." She trotted back out into the rain.

Nadia closed the door behind her sister, locking it securely. She moved down the steps and peeked into the guest room.

Bristow was lying on her stomach in the bed and Eric was sitting on the edge of the bed, rubbing the child's back.

"Is she sleeping?" Nadia asked softly.

He shook his head and as Nadia moved around the bed, she could see Bristow's round eyes were wide open and tearful. She held her thumb to her mouth.

"I changed her pajamas, but she's still shivering," Eric continued, concern in his voice.

"Thanks," Nadia crawled into the bed beside her niece, giving the girl kisses and pulling the child into her arms. Bristow snuggled into her. "I'm going to lay down in here with her for awhile, at least until she falls asleep."

"Do you want me to stay too?" he asked.

Nadia shook her head. "You know we won't all fit in this bed. We probably should have just put her in ours." Nadia brushed her fingers through Bristow's hair, the little girl's eyes were drooping. "But I don't want to move her now."

"Alright. If you need me, you know where to find me." He bunched the covers up around them. "Good night, Bristow," he said, planting a kiss on his niece's head and then his wife's lips and then slipped out of the room.

* * *

"Nadia! Nadia!"

The door banged opened, obviously kicked in.

She turned away from fixing dinner to see him rushing in the door, carrying Bristow in his arms. Tears were streaming down the child's face but she was silent. Red dribbled from her mouth.

"Eric! She's bleeding. What happened?"

"We were just tossing around a ball in the front yard. She took off running for it, and just went down. I think she bit her tongue or her lip or something." Eric set Bristow up on the counter. Her pant leg was torn.

Nadia wet a paper towel with cool water. "Hold it to her mouth."

Eric took the paper towel and did as told.

Nadia looked through the tears in the pant leg. "I don't see any scrapes, but..." She frowned and lifted the leg. "She has bruises all over her shins."

"Those are a few days old. They didn't happen here," Eric responded.

Nadia sighed. "Hey, Bris. When did these happen?"

Eric lifted the cool paper towel from the swelling lip that at least was no longer bleeding.

Bristow looked at her leg. "I fell down," she said softly.

"All of them?" Nadia asked, checking the other leg.

Bristow nodded.

Nadia smiled reassuringly. "I think this lip is going to be okay. But I want you two to play inside for a bit."

"Yes, ma'am," Eric said, tickling Bristow who giggled as he lifted her off the counter and set her on the floor. "Though, I don't think any cure is complete without lots of ice cream."

"Eric...dinner..."

Eric pointed to the child. Bristow's eyes were widened hopefully, her swollen bottom lip poking out pouting.

"How can you resist that face?" he questioned.

She shook her head. "Just a little, okay?"

He grabbed the carton a bowls and some spoons. "To the dining room!" he ordered, cheerily.

Bristow trotted ahead of him, eagerly. She made it just to the arch of the dining room before she tripped.

Eric dropped everything, the bowels and spoons clattering to the floor as he caught the little girl and prevented her from going face first into the hardwood floor. "Whoa. This just isn't your day, is it?"

He set her upright and she started towards the table again.

Nadia narrowed her eyes, as the child nearly tripped again before actually reaching the table. "How long has she been walking like that?"

Her husband gathered the scattered dishes. "I don't know. She wasn't before we went outside."

"Bris, come here," she asked gently.

Bristow walked towards her again uncertainly.

"Are her shoes on the wrong feet?" Nadia looked at the white gym shoes.

"I put them on myself, I think I know which is which," Eric laughed. He leaned over. "Those are the right feet."

Nadia undid the Velcro and with some effort yanked one of the shoes off. She frowned and pressed at the toe of the other shoe. "These are way too small." She tugged the other shoe off, fighting to free the child's foot. She smiled half-heartedly at Bristow. "That's better, isn't it?"

Bristow smiled back at her and nodded. "Ice cream now?"

"Yep, just as soon as I get us some new bowls," Eric responded.

The little girl scampered back over to her chair, no longer looking about to fall with each step.

"We'll have to let Sydney know to get some new shoes," he said as he pulled out new spoons.

Nadia shook her head. "I want to go buy her some after dinner."

He glanced at her as he closed the drawer. "Okay."

"If we don't," Nadia continued, "we won't be able to take her outside the rest of her visit and who knows how long that is going to be."

"Nadia," he said gently. "I said, okay." He pulled her to him and planted a firm kiss on her forehead.

She smiled at him briefly. "Thank you. She's been falling enough to have all those bruises and Sydney didn't notice or realize anything could be wrong? Ever since we got married four months ago, I just worry about her. Every time Sydney takes her home."

"Which only lasts about two days anyway," Eric noted, dryly. He scooped ice cream into bowls.

"I know. Sometimes I wonder what the point is in Sydney even picking her up. And I'm certain that half the time she does, it's just to give i_us/i_ a break. She just drops Bristow off someplace else, like with her father."

Eric delivered a bowl of ice cream, winked at the girl and returned to the doorway of the kitchen. "Well, we both know how much Syd has to deal with. She's busy. I'm sure she'd spend more time with Bristow if she could."

Nadia's shoulders sagged. "Those two sentences are the most Bris has talked since she got here. I usually have to coax her to say anything at all. Even if she's shy, I don't think it should i_be/i_ that bad around us. She sees us all the time."

Eric turned to look at the little girl, worry evident in his own eyes. "She's a quiet kid, I'll give you that. But she's so good. You'd never know she was in those supposed terrible two's."

"I know. Now, go finish your ice cream so I can get dinner done. I think I want to get her shoes from the mall."

"Ooo, she'll get to ride the carousel."

"You both can," Nadia answered, with a wink.

He grinned and shoved a spoonful of his ice cream under her nose.

She ate it and he stole a kiss, tasting her newly ice cream coated lips. "Mmm, chocolate."

She laughed. "Now, out. You're distracting me."

He took his bowl and headed back to the dining room. "Well, then the rest of this is all mine." He sat down next to Bristow who was working on her remaining ice cream. "You and me," he said. "We're staging a nine o'clock fridge raid, you in?"

"In," Bristow said with a giggle.

"Alright, but you're going to have to draw up the plans," he said seriously. "I expect them in your best crayon. Marker bleeds through the paper, making it too easy for the plans to fall into enemy hands. Got it?"

* * *

"_TIA! TIA!_"

Nadia's eyes popped up and she sat up, freeing herself from Eric's bear hug. He sat up next to her.

She tossed a glance at him before climbing out of the bed. Bristow's voice was almost unrecognizable when she shouted, as she did it so rarely. Though in the past four months, Nadia had found the number of times she'd been awakened by her niece crying for her seemed to be increasing.

Nadia made her way into the guest room. Bristow was curled up tightly in the bed, tears streamed from her round eyes. The girl's face was red with distress.

"Bris…Bris…" Nadia whispered. She ran the back of her hand against the child's warm cheeks.

"Tia!" she cried, bursting into new tears and outstretching quivering arms.

Nadia sat down on the bed and pulled the child into her lap. Nadia cuddled the little girl to her. "Hey, it's okay," she soothed. "What happened? Bad dream?" Bristow quivered hard against her. "How long have you been awake? You could have come and found us in the other room. You always can, you know."

Bristow just gripped onto her tightly. "Don't go," she whimpered.

"Come on." Nadia stood up and carried the little girl back to her room.

Eric smiled, pulling the covers back as the two slipped in next to him, tucking them back around the girl who curled up between them. "Nightmare?" he asked Nadia as he patted the child's back.

"I don't know. I don't know if she knows," Nadia responded, propping herself on her elbow and watching the child's face. "I think she was awake in there for awhile before she finally called me."

Eric looked down at the child. "I think she's okay now."

Nadia let out a sigh, but nodded, lying flat again.

* * *

"More pancakes, Bristow?" Nadia inquired.

"Yes, please."

Nadia smiled as she pushed two more onto the child's plate. "Uncle Eric made a good breakfast, didn't he?" Nadia glanced into the living room where Eric was talking on the phone.

The little girl nodded. Her brown eyes fixed on the plate of bacon as she ate a bite of her pancakes.

"More bacon too?" Nadia questioned.

Bristow smiled and nodded.

Eric hung up the phone and returned to the table with a sigh.

Nadia read his face. "It was her?"

"Yes, she's back, she's slept off her trip and she'll be over to get Bristow any minute."

"Any minute?" Nadia frowned. "She could have given us more warning than that."

Eric nodded. "I'll get her stuff together." He headed into the guest room.

Bristow watched her curiously.

Nadia forced a cheery smile. "Your mommy's coming to take you home."

Bristow put down her fork slowly.

"You can finish eating, I'm sure you have time for that…" Nadia trailed off.

Bristow was sinking in her chair.

Nadia put down her own fork and leaned over to look underneath the table. Bristow sat down in front of her chair beneath it, curling her knees to her chest and sucking her thumb anxiously.

Nadia sighed and began clearing away the table.

Eric set Bristow's bag on the couch and looked around the dining room. "Where'd she…?"

Nadia pointed to beneath the table and he nodded.

"You want me to take it this time?" he questioned.

"I don't see why we should make her come out at all. Maybe Sydney will finally see what she does to her." Nadia pointed to his plate. "Are you finished?"

He nodded and poked his head under the table. "Can I join you?"

Nadia didn't hear a response but he moved a chair and went under the table with the little girl. She could only hear him talking though she couldn't make out what he said as she ran water into the sink and rinsed the dishes, before putting them in the dishwasher. She started it running just as there was a knock on the door.

She reluctantly walked over and pulled it open. "Hello."

"Hey, Nadia." Sydney smiled. "Are you ready to be rid of her and have the house to yourselves again?"

"You know we don't mind her at all," Nadia responded.

Sydney stepped inside and scanned the room with her eyes. She moved forward and grabbed the girl's bag. "Where is she?"

"She wasn't happy when we told her she was leaving," Nadia answered, simply, crossing her arms.

Sydney quirked an eyebrow and called out to the house. "Bristow! Bristow, come on, it's time to go." She glanced at her sister again. "Was she good?"

"She always is," Nadia responded.

"Good," Sydney answered.

"She had a nightmare the other night," Nadia mentioned. "She woke up pretty upset. I just thought you should know."

Sydney nodded. "Bristow! Come on, right now. We're leaving."

A dining room chair squeaked across the floor and Eric coaxed the little girl out behind him. He walked her into the living room holding one hand. Bristow was rubbing teary eyes with the other.

"What happened?" Sydney questioned.

"She just wasn't quite ready to leave yet," Eric responded. "But hey, you'll be back soon," he told the child. "Okay?" He knelt down and gave Bristow a hug.

"Okay," she whispered.

"Get your shoes on," Sydney directed.

The little girl stepped away from Eric and sat down the step to put on her new pink and white shoes.

Sydney glanced from the shoes to Nadia. "Those aren't hers."

Nadia moved by Eric and his hand wrapped around her waist. "We bought her some new ones."

"I just got her new shoes," Sydney answered with a frown.

"They were too small," Nadia countered, tightly, for once trying not to make a big deal out of it. "She helped pick these out herself."

Sydney looked unconvinced. "Where _are_ her old ones?"

"She couldn't even walk in them, Syd. That's how she hurt her lip. She kept tripping," Eric explained.

"Didn't you notice?" Nadia questioned. "She has bruises all over her legs from falls."

Sydney sighed. "Let's go," she told the child, impatiently as Bristow stood up from getting her shoes on.

Nadia quickly gave the little girl a tight squeeze. "Love you," she whispered in Bristow's ear.

Sydney ushered Bristow towards the door. "Thank you for watching her. She probably won't be back this week. But I'll call you if anything changes."

"Of course," Nadia responded.

"Thanks again." Sydney closed the door behind her on their way out.

Eric moved to lock the door and Nadia took a glance around the living room before heading into the guest room and starting to tidy the room and make up the bed. She sighed and sat down the bed.

"Cleaning in the dark?" Eric questioned, from the doorway.

Nadia looked up and realized she'd never turned on the bedroom light.

"You okay?" he questioned, coming to sit

She shrugged. "The room just feels so empty when she's not here."

Eric looked around. "Hmm. Well, I could clean out my junk closets and fill this place up with boxes in no time."

She swatted at him. "You already have one bedroom full of boxes. You don't need another."

He put an arm around her. "Any suggestions then?"

She hesitated.

He tilted his head seriously. "Nadia?"

"It's going to be a nice baby's room someday."

Eric grinned. "Oh yeah."

"I'm starting to hope it's some day soon."

"So, this isn't just about missing Bristow, is it?"

"I love her. But it's not just that I miss her. I don't want a new baby to replace her. It's just taking care of her all the time definitely gives me the confidence that I'll actually have a clue how to be a parent some day. And I feel like something's missing when I'm not doing that." She sighed. "You'll probably think it's crazy of me, but I don't think we really have to wait any longer."

"I don't think it's crazy," Eric responded. He grinned at her. "I think…finally!"

She giggled. "Do you mean that? I mean, I'd understand if you want it to be the two of us for a bit longer."

"I mean it," he answered. "Besides, it's not like we're not getting any younger." He leaned towards her face.

She pulled back, giving him an indignant look. "Oh we're not, are we?"

He returned it with a sheepish smile. "I mean, _I'm _not. I'm not getting any younger. You are as gorgeous as—"

She cut him off with a kiss. "Mmmhmm."


	10. Chapter 10

**TEN**

**Four Months Later**

"And what are you going to wear to the ball?" Nadia asked in a squeaky voice, walking the Barbie across the table to Bristow's.

Bristow thought a moment then whispered. "A dress."

"What color?" Nadia's Barbie questioned.

"Yellow!" Bristow answered, softly.

"Ooo, it sounds very pretty. We'd better get ready." Nadia dug through the bin of clothes, looking for a yellow dress.

The front door opened and Sydney came in, a pile of paperwork in hand. Bristow startled slightly.

Nadia looked up from her seat on the floor. "You're early."

Sydney nodded. "I couldn't stand to sit at that desk in that bright office another second. So I just brought the last of the work home. I'm going to grab a shower." She set it on the counter.

"You want me to stay while you finish working?" Nadia questioned.

"You don't want to get home early?"

"Well, Eric's on assignment. The house is empty anyway. The only thing waiting for me is a couple loads of laundry," Nadia responded with a smile. "I was going to start dinner."

"It'll be a quick shower. I'm going to make dinner."

"You sure?" Nadia asked.

"Yes, I'm sure. I want to. And I want you to stay." Sydney smiled.

"Alright. We'll clean up and set the table," Nadia decided.

Bristow smiled slightly.

Sydney nodded. "I'll be back out in a bit." She headed past the two of them into the bathroom.

They cleaned up the dolls from the living room, set the table and tidied Bristow's room in the time Sydney took to take a quick shower and fix a quick dinner of pasta and salad.

Bristow lifted the long noodles with her fork and they kept dropping back onto the plate. Sydney abruptly took the plate from the little girl who shifted uncomfortably.

"So I take it work went well today?" Nadia questioned as she started to eat.

Sydney shrugged. "It was fine." She ran a knife across the plate, shredding the noodles down to bite size and pushing the plate back in front of her daughter. "Things have been slow there."

"But you've been still going on trips like crazy," Nadia responded, giving Bristow a small smile as the child started to eat.

"I have to go out and find the information I need myself. The CIA just doesn't have the leads I'm looking for." Sydney resumed eating her own meal. "What about your day?"

"Oh, Bristow and I went to the park this morning and then grocery shopping. We had a good time at the park. I must have pushed her on just the swings for an hour."

"She needs to learn to pump her legs," Sydney said, with a sigh.

"Oh, she was trying. She doesn't have the rhythm down yet but she was moving them," Nadia answered. "You did a good job," Nadia told the child.

Bristow twisted her fork on her plate, not looking at either of them.

"So how does the rest of the week look?" Sydney questioned between bites. "I don't have my schedule down completely yet, but I do want to let Carrie know what days."

"Eric gets back day after tomorrow," Nadia responded, absently.

Sydney seemed to quick-eat the rest of her meal, before getting up and starting water for dishes. She pulled a bottle of wine out the refrigerator and glasses from the cupboard.

Nadia looked across the table at Bristow. "Are you done?"

"She's barely eaten any of it," Sydney answered. "She's not done." Sydney gestured to the wine and she poured herself a glass. "Would you like some?"

Nadia sighed, glanced at the bottle and shook her head. She brought her plate to the sink. "No, thank you."

"Are you feeling alright?" Sydney questioned, as she put one glass away and took a sip from her own.

Nadia shrugged. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"You seem distracted," Sydney answered.

Nadia looked at Bristow again and sat down at the counter. "Sydney, when did you first know you were pregnant with her?"

Sydney straightened. "I didn't know. Vaughn and I were in a car accident...that wasn't exactly an accident. And I had some tests just to be sure I was alright. It came out in the tests and the doctor called me while I was on a mission Cape Town."

Nadia nodded. "So what did you do?"

"First, I told Vaughn," Sydney answered simply. "And then we jumped off a cliff so we wouldn't be caught by the guards of a man we'd just stolen an important manuscript from." She narrowed her eyes. "Nadia, why are you asking me this?"

"Because I think I'm pregnant," her sister answered, softly.

Sydney put down her glass of wine slowly. "You've only been married eight months. Barely eight months. Are you sure?"

"Well, I'm not sure, I haven't taken any tests. I just think I am," Nadia answered.

Sydney sipped slowly, avoiding saying anything. She moved back over to the dishes. "I thought you and Eric were going to wait awhile."

Nadia smiled, shyly. "We realized neither of us really wanted to."

"But don't the two of you want more time to get settled? Having a baby now would change everything."

"We know that. But it's not like we just met and decided to get married. We've known each other for years. We're ready for this."

"It won't be just like watching Bristow, you know."

"I doubt any of my kids will be quite as well behaved," Nadia interjected with a smile.

Sydney sighed. "I'm talking about the responsibility, the worrying, the constant time and energy."

Nadia gave her sister an indignant look. "I practically have that now. You think I don't worry or feel responsible about Bristow, especially when you're not here and completely unreachable?"

"It will be different."

"I'm not saying it won't."

"What about your health?" Sydney questioned. "Being pregnant, you're going to be tired all the time and aching all the time and at first you'll probably be sick all the time."

"Somehow I'll survive," Nadia answered, carefully.

"But you've had your share of health issues. Is it even safe for you to be pregnant?"

"Sydney, the coma was over two years ago now. I'm fine."

"Are you?" Sydney questioned. "You think I haven't watched you. That I haven't noticed the way you walk so strangely sometimes. At first I thought you were in pain, but then I realized it was just that you had to see where you were placing your feet because you couldn't feel the floor. And I've noticed other things to that show that that lack of sensation is a lingering effect, whether from the coma or the infection I don't know. I don't even know what other health issues you're having that you aren't telling me. "

Nadia fell silent.

"Does Eric know?"

"He knows," Nadia answered, quietly.

"And what do the doctors say?"

"It's intermittent, Sydney. And I've learned to compensate for it. But they don't know the cause."

"So you're having a mystery ailment, an ongoing condition that's lasted for years now and you still think it's safe to start a pregnancy? And even if it's safe for you, what about for the baby? What are you going to do if you can't feel when the baby's in distress? Haven't you thought about this at all, Nadia?"

Nadia stared at the counter, no longer able to look her sister in the eye.

Sydney finished her glass of wine and continued the dishes.

The clanking of a fork nearby drew her attention as Bristow having completely eaten her meal finally felt free to get up from the table. Bristow handed her plate off to her mother at the sink.

"It's getting late," Sydney finally said. "I should get her ready for bed. Say goodnight, Bristow."

Bristow scampered over to Nadia and hugged her. "Good night, _tia_."

"Good night, Bristow," Nadia squeezed the little girl tightly and kissed her cheek.

Bristow headed into her bedroom.

Nadia got up off the stool. "It is late. I'm going to head home." She moved to grab her things head towards the front door.

"Wait," Sydney put aside her last washed dished, dried her hands and started towards the door.

"Sydney, please. I can't take anymore of this tonight. You've made it quite clear what a fool you think I am, and I'd like to go home now."

"That's not how I meant it. I just don't want anything to happen to you."

"Nothing _has._ And as far as we know nothing's going to, except that maybe I'm going to have a baby. A baby Eric and I both want very much. And if the thought of it bothers you so much, then I'm going to go now and I'd ask you to please, leave me alone." She opened the door.

"Nadia!"

"Sydney, please!" she snapped, blinking rapidly to combat tears.

Regret passed over Sydney's eyes. "Congratulations," Sydney whispered. She forced a smile and held it.

Nadia just stared at her sister a moment. "Good night," she answered and headed out into the dark.

* * *

Nadia sighed as she parked the car and glanced around. Sydney's car was nowhere in sight. She shook her head. It wouldn't be the first time Sydney had changed the schedule and not told her. She got out and went to the door, daring to hope there was at least a note inside. She unlocked it and went in.

There was a note on the counter. _"Had to run early. Bristow's asleep. --Syd."_

Nadia dropped the note, processing. Bristow was there? Alone?!

She stalked across the apartment to the child's bedroom and pushed the door open. "Bris?!" But her eyes fell upon an empty bed. "Bris!" She backed out of the room and checked Sydney's bedroom. "BRIS!" Also empty.

She checked the bathtub and under the dining room table. "Bristow!"

She tried not to panic. Perhaps Sydney had written the note and then come to her senses and Bristow wasn't there at all.

Nadia couldn't trust in that. "BRISTOW!" She started checking the kitchen cupboards, and then went into Sydney's room to check the closet. She walked back to the child's bedroom to check her closet. She was pushing aside clothes when she heard a sniffle.

She turned around and tilted her head further to get a peek underneath the bed. "Bris! What are you doing?"

The little girl was under her bed, scrunched against the wall, sucking her thumb as tears tumbled out of her eyes.

Nadia crawled over to her. "Come on out, please," she said calmly. "Come on."

Bristow obeyed climbing out from beneath the bed.

Nadia took the girl into her arms. "Were you scared?"

Bristow nodded.

Nadia hugged her niece tighter. "I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" She pulled back to examine the child.

The little girl shrugged, but Nadia didn't see any signs of injury. Nadia finally let out a relieved sigh. "You know what? Let's get your things together. We're going to spend some time at my house."

"I have to go potty," Bristow whispered.

"Oh, alright. Go, I'll get you a bag ready."

Nadia sat back on her knees as the child disappeared into the bathroom. She blinked hard but her calm moment was interrupted by the jingle of her cell phone. She read the caller id and totally felt her calm escaping her. She shoved the phone to her ear. "Sydney," she said, through clenched teeth.

"Oh, Nadia finally. Are you at my house yet?"

"Yes, I'm here. And I want to know what on earth is _wrong_ with you. You left your two-year old daughter in the house by herself for who knows how long! She was terrified!"

"She woke up? She was sleeping when I left. I was going to miss my flight, Nadia."

"Sydney!" Nadia began shoving things into Bristow's duffle.

"I just had to be sure you were there--"

"I'm here. And I'm taking Bristow home with me. And don't you dare come pick her up until you can promise me that this will _never_ happen again."

"You're overreacting. I knew you'd be right there. I really don't have time to talk right now, my plane--"

Nadia abruptly ended the call just as Bristow emerged from the bathroom. She took a deep breath and smiled at the child. "Ready to go?"

Bristow nodded.

"Come here." Nadia pulled the little girl into her arms and carried her to the car.

* * *

"Bristow, it's after nine o'clock, I think it's time you got ready for bed," Nadia told the child, leaning half asleep against her on the couch.

"No," the two-year old whined. "I'm not sleepy."

Eric smiled amused at her from his seat watching TV.

"Bris, it's late. And you don't want you will be sleepy tomorrow," Nadia replied. She took the little girl's hand and started towards the bathroom.

The child was already in her pajamas and had been since her bath after dinner. Nadia helped her brush her teeth and then they went into the guest room.

"We can read one story, and then you have to go to sleep. Do you want to pick which one?"

Bristow stood in front of the bed, pouting.

"Alright, I'll pick it." Nadia chose a book and coaxed the child into the bed and pulled the covers around her. She read slowly, hoping the child would start to droop. Bristow shifted uncomfortably in the bed the entire book.

Nadia finally finished and immediately Bristow climbed out from beneath the covers. "Where are you going?"

"I'm thirsty."

"You had a drink when we brushed your teeth. It's time to go to sleep. Come on." She tucked the covers back around the child.

Bristow began to suck her thumb anxiously. "_Tia_, stay?" she asked, around the finger in her mouth.

"Until you go to sleep, yes." Nadia lay in the bed beside her niece

Bristow curled into her. "Stay all night," she said.

"I think Uncle Eric might get lonely if I did that," Nadia answered with a smile.

Bristow's eyes began to tear and she gripped onto Nadia. "Don't go!"

Nadia gave the child a concerned frown. "I'm not going anywhere, Bristow. I'm not going to leave you alone."

She patted the child's back a long time, but it took far longer than the usual fifteen minutes to get the child to sleep. Bristow's eyes would droop drowsily and then the child would shift and open them wide again.

Eric finally peeked in to check on the two of them. He crept up to the bed expecting to find the two of them asleep but instead they were both still awake. He raised an eyebrow. "I thought you put her to bed awhile ago," he whispered.

Nadia rolled over. "I don't think she's going to sleep in here. She's afraid of me leaving."

Eric looked from Nadia to the child. He scooped Bristow up. "Let's go to bed." He led the way back to the master bedroom and tucked Bristow in between them.

Nadia hadn't even settled before she looked over to see the child out cold asleep. She shifted the little girl over taking over the spot between Bristow and her husband.

"Are you feeling alright?" Eric questioned her softly.

"What? I'm fine."

"Are you sure? This pregnancy's had you so tired--"

"I've felt fine physically today. Just..."

"Just?"

Nadia turned to face him. "I'm just so frustrated with Sydney."

"If you're too tired to watch Bristow and you don't want say anything, I'll talk to her."

"It's nothing like that. Sydney left Bristow alone. When I got there to watch her today, Sydney had left already. Bristow was so scared. She was hiding. Sydney just took off while she was napping. It's no wonder Bris didn't want to go to sleep tonight. I think she's afraid of waking up and everyone being gone."

Eric frowned. "What happened with Sydney? An emergency?"

"I tried to call her. She told me was afraid she was going to miss her flight and didn't think it was any big deal. I'm tired of it, Eric. I'm tired of her not caring enough about Bristow to see what she does to her."

"How long was she alone?" he questioned.

Nadia sat up and nearly shout-whispered. "She's two years old, Eric! Does it matter? Or do you think I 'm overreacting too? That's it's some kind of pregnancy hormones gone wrong."

"That's not what I meant, Nadia. I was only trying to find out what happened."

Her voice left the whisper range. "My sister doesn't seem to care about leaving her _toddler_ unsupervised is what happened. Bristow could have gotten into anything in the house or what if she'd gotten hurt...or if someone had broken in. I can't even bear to think about it."

He sat up. "Hey, hey, it's okay."

She sighed. "I'm not sending Bristow home."

"Nadia, what do you mean?"

"Who knows if she's done this before? I told Sydney not to come get her until she can promise me that this won't happen again."

Eric stared hard at her. "I understand why you said it and I don't condone what Sydney's done, but Nadia, we can't just keep Bristow."

"Why not? She's here almost all the time anyway."

"Sydney's not going to stand for this."

"I'll be surprised if Sydney actually notices she's gone."

"She'll notice," Eric answered, with a grimace. "It's her daughter. We have to talk Sydney. At least, try to find out what's going on."

"_You _talk to her. I'm done." Nadia lay back down and curled around Bristow her back to him.


	11. Chapter 11

**ELEVEN**

The phone vibrated across the table. Nadia caught it and set it back in the center.

Bristow giggled as she continued eating her cereal and the phone vibrated across the table again.

Eric looked at his wife. "You aren't going to..."

"It's her again. It has to be," Nadia answered. Nadia wondered that her sister had never had so much time to call than she had in the past three days.

Eric nodded.

She grabbed the phone and checked the ID. "It's her." She turned the phone off and put it back down. She hadn't been willing to speak to Sydney once.

Bristow watched her curiously.

It was silent several moments before the house phone rang.

Nadia got up from the table abruptly. "This is getting ridiculous." She grabbed the cordless in the kitchen. "Hello, Sydney," she said with a sigh.

"I've been trying to call."

"I know," Nadia replied shortly.

"I'm back home. I'm going to come over and pick up Bristow today."

"No, Sydney. You're not. I told you I'm not sending her home with you until I know she's going to be safe."

"She was never not safe."

"You left her alone!"

"For less than half an hour!"

"She's two years old! Any amount of time alone is too long!"

"I knew you would be right there."

"She was so scared. And she's been clingy ever since. I should have called the police. Leaving a toddler unsupervised is neglect, Sydney."

"And keeping my own daughter from me is kidnapping. I'm coming over there, Nadia. I'd like her packed up and ready to come home."

"I can't do it, Sydney. I can't send her home with you."

"You don't have any choice, Nadia. She's _my_ daughter and you have no right to keep her from me."

Nadia opened her mouth to counter her sister but was met with a sudden click on the other end. Nadia's eyes widened with the realization that Sydney was on her way over. She turned to find Eric behind her.

"What is going on?" he questioned.

"She's going to try and come over to get her now."

"And what are you going to do?"

"Lock the door," Nadia responded.

"And try and yell some more sense into her?"

"If I have to," Nadia answered.

Eric shook his head. "Grab your coat."

"What?"

"That's not a plan. I don't want the two of you anywhere near each other. Get your coat."

She dropped the phone and grabbed her coat and Bristow's.

Eric marched over the table with the child's shoes. He began fastening on the little girl's shoes. "Come on, Bristow," he said gently. He walked the girl back over to the door and Nadia put the child's coat on.

Eric peeked out. "You can take her to the park, and maybe the mall. Just stay away at least until after noon."

"You're not coming?" Nadia realized.

"I'm going to talk to Sydney."

"We both can," Nadia began.

"No, you're stressed enough about this as it is. And you don't really want to have a yelling match in front of Bristow, do you?" He kissed her and opened the door. "Have a good time!"

Nadia took her niece by the hand and headed out reluctantly. "Be careful, alright? She was pretty upset on the phone."

He nodded. "I'll be fine. Go. Bye Bristow."

"Bye!" the child answered, still seeming slightly confused.

Nadia got the child strapped in a car seat. "So where to first? Mall or park?" she queried.

"Park," Bristow answered, happily.

"Okay! Park, it is." Nadia backed the car out and headed down the street.

* * *

Nadia parked the car in the driveway well past noon. Sydney's car wasn't anywhere in sight. Bristow was asleep in the backseat having been exhausted by hours at the park and then the mall. With a wary glance up the wall, Nadia pulled her sleeping niece into her arms and went into the house.

She glanced around the front room. Nothing was out of place. She carried Bristow into the guest room and tucked her into bed. She peeked into the master bedroom. Eric was flipping channels on the TV, but he flipped it off when he saw her.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hey." She shed her coat and crawled across the bed to lie beside him. "What happened? Did Sydney not come?"

"She came," he responded.

"What happened?"

He wrapped his arms around his wife and sighed. "She got here maybe fifteen minutes after you left…"

_The banging on the front door was loud and insistent. Eric took a bracing deep breath before he opened it. "Hey, Syd."_

_Sydney gave him an impatient frown. "Hello, Eric." She stepped inside and gave the front room a once over. "Where's my daughter?"_

"_She's not here," he responded._

"_Nadia," Sydney mumbled under breath. "Where did they go, Eric?"_

"_I don't actually know for sure," he answered._

"_Well, when will they be back?" Sydney demanded._

_He closed the door and started down the steps into the living room. "I don't know that for sure either. Syd, Nadia told me what happened."_

"_And blew it out of proportion, I'm sure."_

"_You left your daughter alone, Syd. I can't say that I don't find that just as unsettling as Nadia does. How could you do that?"_

_Sydney frowned at him. "I'll tell you and you can tell, Nadia. I'm sorry I scared you all, but she was asleep. She was fine—"_

"_She's a two year old, Syd. You can't tell me you don't see why we're all so concerned. I just want to know what's going on with you and what happened to the Sydney Bristow I used to know. That one would want to do whatever was in her power to protect her kid. I mean, come on, Syd. That's Mike's kid."_

_Sydney bristled and walked a few steps away from him. "Like I could ever forget. All I ever hear is how fortunate I supposedly am to have her. Like because I have her I can't or shouldn't still miss him or want him back. She doesn't make up for losing him! She's not a replacement. She doesn't make it all better."_

"_Syd, I didn't mean—"_

"_You can't possibly understand. Having her sometimes just makes it that much harder not to have him here too." Her eyes went glassy and sat down on the couch. "Because I need to take care of her. I need to protect her. I need to be strong for her. I know I have all that responsibility and I just feel…alone. All the time."_

_He moved towards her slowly. "I'm so sorry, Sydney."_

_She shook her head. "She just can't make up for the absence of adult company or fill the void that not having him leaves." Sydney stared at him so intensely. "I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him, Eric."_

"_I know…" he said, gently. He knelt in front of her._

_She looked faraway. "And now, all I want is to curl up and disappear."_

"_I get it. I really do. Trying to wrap my head around the fact that he's gone took me some time. But we've _both _got other responsibilities now."_

_She was silent a moment and her gaze shifted to him. "Getting the people that did this to him. That is my responsibility."_

"_But Syd, that can't_ be _your only focus."_

_She gave him an almost guilty frown. "It's the only reason I get out of bed. It's how I convince myself to start my day."_

_He couldn't help his frown. "How long are you going to let it be like that?"_

"_Until they're gone."_

"_But in the meantime, you have to think of your daughter."_

_Her eyes flashed fury. "I do think of her, Eric! What do you think I came over here for?" She shook her head and stood up. "You know what? I'm not going to go through this." She headed for the door._

"_Sydney!"_

_She left the apartment without a word._

Nadia lay back on the bed with a sigh. "So she just took off?"

"Yes. She got in her car. She drove away. And she wasn't headed towards her apartment," he responded, regretfully. "I'm sorry I upset her so much. More than anything, she's still grieving."

"It's not an excuse," Nadia said, softly. Her eyes closed halfway.

He turned towards her and propped his head on his elbow. "I know." He sighed. "How are you feeling?"

She shrugged slightly. "A little tired."

His hand touched her stomach and he lay his head on her chest. "Hello in there," he said softly. "How are _you_ feeling?" he questioned their baby.

She laughed lightly. "Apparently, pretty good. I haven't heard any complaints."

He lifted his head and she scooted slightly so they could share a pillow. "Did you all have a good time?"

Her eyes opened slightly. She started to smile. "Bristow loved it. She's out cold."

"Well, now that's a rarity. Do you want a nap too?" Eric questioned.

"Mmm." She turned to face him. "Not particularly."

His expression mutated into a mischievous grin.

* * *

"Nadia? Nadia?"

She blinked her eyes open in the dark. "Eric?" She recalled him, but she didn't recall falling asleep. "How long was I out?"

"A few hours," he responded. "Bristow woke up and we hung out. I made dinner. We ate and there's leftovers in the stove."

"You should have got me up." She sat up and realized he had his shoes on and his keys in hand. "What's going on?"

"I just got a page, I have to go into work. Bristow's watching some cartoons now."

She sighed. "Will you be back tonight?"

"I don't know. I'll call you and let you know." He kissed her quick and headed out the door.

She took a shower and got dressed and then cuddled on the couch with Bristow as they ate popcorn and watched cartoons. Around nine o'clock, the child was asleep on the couch covered in a quilt and Nadia grabbed some dinner and cleaned up the kitchen.

There was a firm knock on the door.

Nadia sighed and walked over, checking the window to see if it was Sydney. It wasn't. She opened the door. "Jack? What's going? Is Eric--"

Jack gave her a severe gaze. "I've come to pick up my granddaughter."

She frowned slightly. "Did Sydney send you? Did she tell what happened?"

He stepped inside. "She told me what's transpired. This situation needs to be resolved. Now, do you intend to keep the child from me as well?"

"No, I just want to know if you understand why I did it. I care about her. She's my niece…"

"Half-niece," Jack corrected. He scanned the room, until his eyes fell upon the girl asleep on the couch. "I'd like her things."

Nadia hesitated. "Eric tried to talk to Sydney today. She doesn't seem to recognize she's done anything wrong."

Jack moved towards the couch and he lifted up Bristow. "Her things," he reiterated, coldly.

Nadia sighed and moved to the guest room and repacked Bristow's duffle quickly. Jack had a coat wrapped around Bristow and he took the bag from her with one hand. He headed for the door.

She frowned, confused. "What are you going to…?"

"Good night, Nadia." He turned and headed out to his car.

"Good night," she said, softly.

* * *

"So tell me, did you forget this blanket on purpose?" Eric questioned as he parked the car.

Nadia looked at him. "No. Honestly, Jack just looked so angry, I didn't even think about it."

"Angry? Maybe you want me to come in with you?"

Nadia undid her seatbelt. "I'll be fine. You could have stayed home. You were out late last night."

Eric sighed. "Take good care of Mommy, okay?" he told her belly.

Nadia patted her still nearly flat stomach once. "I'm just dropping this off and making sure Bris is okay."

"I just want you to be okay. And I'm starting to think I'd feel better if everyone knew about our little surprise."

Nadia shook her head. "We agreed, remember? We aren't telling anyone until we absolutely have to. And I'm not showing yet, so we don't have to. Besides, I'd rather Jack Bristow not be the first person we tell."

"Who is the first person going to be then?" he questioned.

"My father. But if you'd like to call him right now before I go in--"

Eric shifted uncomfortably and leaned towards her stomach again. "Sorry baby. You'll have to have your introduction the famous Jack Bristow some other time." He sat up straight and kissed his wife. "Hurry back. The baby and I have plans for this afternoon you know."

"What plans?" Nadia questioned.

"Football," he responded. "Game's on in an hour. I promised the baby we'd watch it together."

"Promised when?"

"When you were napping yesterday. We had a very good conversation."

"I'm not watching football." She climbed out of the car.

Eric gave her a mock-stern look. "Are you depriving me of my father-baby bonding time?"

Nadia sighed and laughed. "I'll be right back." Blanket in hand she headed up to Jack's apartment and knocked the on the door.

It opened almost immediately. "Nadia," he greeted, stiffly.

"Hello Jack."

He stared at her expectantly.

"I'm dropping off Bristow's blanket. I forgot to send it with you yesterday."

He held out his hand to take it.

She held onto it. "I can give it to her."

Jack straightened. "She's not here."

Nadia stared at him. "What do you mean she's not here? Where is she?"

"At home with her mother where she belongs."

Nadia pushed past and looked around the apartment. "You didn't even bring her home with you, did you? You just took straight her to Sydney."

"Sydney came to me distraught yesterday that you wouldn't return the child to her. I'm disappointed in both you and Agent Weiss for your behavior in this matter. You should have involved me from the beginning."

"Sydney—"

"Sydney may have shown a lapse in judgment, but you hardly needed to cause her such distress."

"It was Bristow's distress _I_ was worried about."

"I would think after the time you've spent living with Sydney, you would recognize her actions were a result of the amount of pressure she is under."

"Or because she just doesn't care," Nadia answered, dryly.

"I have discussed the matter with her and I'll thank you not to interfere further."

Nadia let out an exasperated sigh and marched out the door. He immediately closed it behind her. She headed down the hallway, almost running into Eric.

"Hey, what happened?" he questioned.

"Bristow's not there," she responded. "He sent her home." She pushed the elevator button impatiently. "We have to get over there."

Eric followed her into the car. "Nadia, Nadia, hold on. What do you want to do? Go get her? Snatch her right out of Sydney's arms?"

"I don't know, Eric. I just…I need to see that she's okay."

He nodded. "Okay. Let's go."

They were at Sydney's apartment in another fifteen minutes. Eric undid his seatbelt as soon as he turned off the car.

"I need to talk to my sister," Nadia began.

"There's no way I'm sending you in alone again." They climbed out of the car.

Nadia held the blanket and reached out and took his hand with her free one. He held on tightly. When they reached the door, she let him go and dug into her purse.

"You're not going to knock?" he questioned.

"Do you think she'd let me in?" She put her key in the lock and opened the door quietly.

Sydney startled from tapping at her laptop at the counter. She crossed her arms and stared at them.

Nadia moved forward. "Bristow's blanket. I was returning it."

Sydney held out her hand.

"I'd like to see her."

"You just had her for three days. And I'm assuming you're here to take her back." Sydney looked past her sister to Eric. "Are you here for reinforcements?"

"I'm actually just going to go see Bristow." He took the blanket from Nadia, gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. He walked past the two of them and disappeared into Bristow's room, closing the door all but a crack.

Nadia sighed and approached her sister. "I didn't take her to hurt you. I took her so I would know that she wasn't alone. I was scared, alright? For Bristow. I never expected you to…I didn't know what else it meant you might do."

Sydney responded with a debating frown. "And that gave you the right to just keep her away from me?"

Nadia sighed. "You acted like…like it didn't even matter that you'd left her alone."

"I was furious with you. Not because I didn't think you were right but because you couldn't even talk to me, reasonably. You attacked my parenting skills and ran off with my kid. I just felt threatened. I reacted badly, I know that. And no, leaving her alone was probably not one of my better decisions; it just didn't seem so terrible at the time. But I couldn't even think about that when you were telling me I couldn't even come and get my own daughter."

Nadia crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "So you sent your father—"

"I went to him after I talked to Eric because I was upset. It wasn't my intention to send him over there, but I think when he heard me crying, he just thought he should take action. I'm sorry. I'm sure he may not have been very nice when he dropped by."

"He wasn't," Nadia confirmed. She dropped her arms.

"I'm sorry."

"Thanks, but I didn't just come here after apologies, Sydney. I still, I need to know that this won't happen again."

"Never," Sydney vowed, seriously. "I've already started making arrangements so it won't."

Nadia looked at her skeptically.

"It won't, Nadia."

"It better not," she responded. "I better get Eric. We have to go. We have plans." She touched her stomach momentarily before dropping her hand.

The door to Bristow's room opened immediately and he emerged with the child giggling on his back.

Nadia smiled and gave her a niece a kiss goodbye.

Eric let the girl down from her piggyback ride. He looked from Sydney to Nadia. "Good to see everyone's still in one piece." He hugged Bristow. "See ya, kiddo."

"Bye Eric," Sydney responded.

Eric put an arm around Nadia as the two of them left the house. "So, I hear we have plans," he said with a grin.

"One game," she said, sternly.

He grinned and pulled her in for a long kiss before the two of them climbed into the car.


	12. Chapter 12

**TWELVE**

He closed the door and locked it securely, then unlocked it and relocked it once more.

Nadia took off her coat and hung it on the hook. "Eric, what are you doing?"

"The way your father acted tonight, I wouldn't be surprised if he followed us home." He moved from the door to cup his hands and peek out the window. "Likely with a radar gun to be sure I was driving the speed limit and using my blinkers."

Nadia laughed lightly. "You're overreacting."

"So was he!" Eric responded. "You didn't see it. The second you looked away after you told him you were pregnant, he just gave me this look."

_"What_ look?" Nadia questioned.

"Like he was plotting my death!"

She moved to the couch. "I think he was happy for us."

"Happy for you, maybe. And only after you told him how happy you were. Prior to that, he seemed quite convinced that I had done this to you."

Nadia patted her belly that was only just beginning to show. "Well, you did." She smiled. "But I love you for it."

"But, he made it sound like I forced this on you. Did you hear how many times he said 'so soon'?" Eric shook his head and sat down beside her.

"I knew he might have some questions. That's why I thought it best that we just didn't tell anyone until we absolutely had to."

"Four months. Your father kept repeating that too! Four months."

"Thank goodness we didn't tell him it is more like five."

"I think he thought we were keeping it a secret for some sinister reason. Or that I made you. Can't we tell him that I don't _make_ you do anything?" He started to get up. "I'm going to lock the door again."

She grabbed his arm and made him stay next to her. "Eric, relax. He won't kill you unless he at any time believes you're not taking good care of me or shouldering enough responsibility for the baby."

"Or in other words, if you break a nail or the first time the baby gets the sniffles. I'm a dead man."

Nadia leaned against him. "It'll be okay."

He put an arm around her. "Yes, as long as we have a plan. First, you stay in bed the rest of this pregnancy. And you," he said, addressing her belly. "are under strict orders never to sniffle ever."

Nadia shook her head at him. "Don't tell her that." He had been speaking to her belly quite regularly since the day she'd told him she was pregnant. He'd been especially happy the week before that they'd finally learned the gender of the baby.

"What? She should know that," he projected his voice, "her father's _life_ is in her hands."

"I'll talk to my father again, alright? I'll tell him how wonderfully and deliriously happy I am and that it's all because of you."

Eric nodded. "Just don't use the term deliriously. It makes you sound feverish. And I doubt you getting the sniffles will be allowed either."

"Alright, alright. And I'm sorry you felt so much pressure tonight. I just didn't think we could put it off much longer. Besides, I thought you'd be glad to have this out so you can finally tell everyone at work."

He started to smile. "Oh I can tell them now? We don't have to tell Sydney first? I thought you two were speaking again."

Nadia shrugged. "I told her when I first thought I might be. I mean, I never confirmed it, but it won't be a surprise to her either way."

He shifted and turned his head to look at her. "You never mentioned it."

Nadia shifted, staring at her lap. "You were out of town. And it didn't go…exactly the way I would have hoped."

He gave her a curious look. "You wanna tell me about it?"

"No, actually. I'd rather not."

He almost frowned, but he managed a light tone. "Does she want to kill me too?"

She shook her head, uncomfortably. "I honestly don't know what she wants these days. She hardly talks to me except about when I can watch Bristow you know."

He nodded. "Well, we could tell Bristow." He returned to addressing her belly. "You'd like that wouldn't you? A proper introduction to your cousin?"

Nadia smiled. "Hopefully she'll be able to understand."

"She's almost three. I'm sure she will."

Nadia nodded. "It'll be good to tell her. She's going to start wondering when we finally start decorating the nursery. Which we should really start doing now, I suppose."

"We can start now." Eric smiled and headed into the guest room soon-to-be nursery. "Nadia!" he suddenly called, almost alarmed.

She got up off the couch and started towards the room. "Eric, what's the matter?"

He came to the doorway. "When did you have time to do this?"

"Do what?" she questioned, coming into the room. Her eyes widened to the sturdy wood crib that stood in the center of the room. She touched it lightly. "It's beautiful." She looked at him confused. "But I didn't do it."

Eric frowned. "But who else knows besides you and me, your doctor and your father...and maybe Sydney."

"Sydney wouldn't have done this," Nadia said, with certainty. She moved and took a small note off the mattress.

Eric peeked over her shoulder to read aloud. "Congratulations to my daughter," he began, then stopped and looked at her. "How did your father get this here before we got home?"

Nadia shook her head. "Not my father," she said, knowingly.

Eric stiffened. "How did your _mother_ know?"

Nadia smiled slightly. "I'd be more surprised if she didn't know. I'm still certain she's the one who left that necklace in my room the day of our wedding. I think she's always watching."

Eric touched the crib. "So she's obviously decided it's time we decorated the nursery. I thought _we _were supposed to get to build the crib."

"You want to take it apart and put it back together?" Nadia questioned.

Eric looked at it. "We could except…she didn't leave us the box or any instructions."

Nadia patted his shoulder. "You can build the next one alright?"

He turned to her and smiled. "You promise?"

She laughed. "That you can build a crib, of course."

He flashed a grin. "No, you promise that there'll be a next one?"

She grinned back. "I certainly hope so."

He leaned in close. "And one after that?"

Nadia kissed him. "Let's get through this one first."

He pulled back. "Okay, now I'm hungry."

"We just had dinner at my father's."

"_You_ had dinner. I don't think I ate anything at all. Your father glared at me any time I lifted my fork."

"Aw, I'm sorry. Go eat."

He brushed his lips against hers and then moved towards the door hesitantly. "Don't break any nails while I'm gone, alright? If you father doesn't kill me, I have no doubt your mother will."

She laughed and turned back to continue admiring the crib.

* * *

"It's almost six o'clock. Do you think she's not coming after all?" Nadia questioned as she sat down with her dinner plate.

"I don't know. Sydney left work before I did today," Eric responded. "There's plenty for Bristow if she's hungry when she gets here."

Nadia sighed and ate a few bites. "Maybe I should call."

"Nadia, you have to eat. Then, you can call."

She sighed.

"Or I'll call, right now." He grinned and got up.

"Sit down," Nadia answered with a laugh. "You have to eat too." She ate a few more bites.

"Even if you're not hungry, I'm sure Erica is."

Nadia shook her head on him. "Is that what you _really_ want to name her?"

Eric shrugged. "I'm just tossing it out there. We have to think of something. I'd like to have something to call her before she's born. I'm sure she can hear us talking about her. I don't want her to be offended that we haven't picked a name. Do you want the first thing she learns about her parents to be that they're indecisive?"

Nadia touched her belly with her free hand. "We're not indecisive," she told her stomach. "We're just picky. We want to find the right name." She shot her husband a look. "Erica isn't it."

He threw up his hands passively. "Alright, alright. Then, you pick one."

Nadia opened her mouth and shut it drawing a blank.

"See, see!"

"Give me a minute." She opened her mouth again and was cut off by a knock at the door. She grinned. "I'll keep thinking." She got up from the table and opened the door. "Hey, Bris. Hello, Sydney."

Sydney followed Bristow in the door.

"We were starting to wonder what happened to you," Nadia commented.

"I ran some errands before I picked Bristow up." Sydney put a bag down on the couch.

"From Carrie's?" Nadia questioned.

Sydney smiled. "No." She removed her daughter's coat showing a black leotard. "From dance class."

Nadia looked down at her niece. "Bristow in dance classes?" She smiled.

Bristow smiled up at her aunt.

"How long have those been going on?" Nadia questioned.

Sydney shrugged. "She goes three times a week for a couple hours."

Nadia nodded, surprised her sister had taken the initiative to enroll Bristow in anything. "What made you decide to enroll her?"

"She's so shy. She needs the social skills." Sydney moved towards the door.

"Did she have dinner?" Nadia questioned.

"Not yet. So I will pick her up tomorrow night. Be good, Bristow." She headed out the door.

Nadia turned back to her niece. "How was class?"

Bristow shrugged.

Nadia knelt down to the child's height. "Was it fun? Have you made some new friends?"

Bristow just wrapped her arms around Nadia's neck. "Pick me up?" she asked quietly.

Nadia frowned slightly and lifted the little girl. "Hey, what is it?" Bristow just snuggled closer to her.

Eric finally poked his head out of the dining room.

Nadia moved to sit down on the couch. "Are you hungry? Eric made chicken."

"No," Bristow said softly.

Eric joined them on the couch. "Hey, Bristow. What's this?" he gestured to the outfit.

Bristow didn't look at him.

"Dance classes, apparently," Nadia responded.

"You're a dancer now, Bristow? Wanna show your Uncle Eric some moves?" he asked, tapping the child's shoulder.

The little girl shook her head.

"She seems a little down," Nadia said quietly.

"What's up?" Eric questioned the child with a concerned smile. "Can you tell us?"

Bristow shook her head again.

"Is it a secret?" he asked.

Bristow shrugged.

Eric gave Nadia a smile. "Did you know your Aunt Nadia and I have a secret?"

Bristow looked at him curiously. "What is it?"

Nadia smiled at her husband and passed Bristow over to him. Eric turned Bristow to face her. Nadia lifted her shirt. "You see how my belly sticks out just a bit? That's because there's a baby in there."

Bristow's eyes widened. "Really?" she asked.

"Yes, really," Eric responded.

Bristow started to smile. "Will the baby come out?"

"Well, the baby has to grow a bit and get bigger first. But yes. And then you will have a cousin."

Bristow stared at Nadia's tummy. "What does the baby look like?"

Eric and Nadia looked at each other. "Well, we don't really know yet," Nadia answered. "But I suppose the baby will look like us."

Eric nodded. "We do know if it's a boy or a girl. Do you want to know?"

Bristow nodded eagerly.

Eric leaned over and whispered in the child's ear.

Bristow grinned. "I want the baby to come out now. I want to see her!"

"It's going to be a long time yet, Bris. But as soon as she's born, you'll be able to see her."

The child frowned a little.

Eric tickled Bristow. "But you can talk to her. I talk to her all the time." He leaned over. "Hello, baby. Meet your cousin, Bristow. Say something, Bristow."

Bristow hesitated then leaned over too. "Hello, baby!" she nearly shouted.

Nadia laughed.

"Now," Eric began. "Do you want to tell us your secret?"

Bristow frowned and shook her head.

"Why not?" Nadia asked.

"Mommy told me not to," Bristow said, softly.

Nadia frowned then.

But Eric just stood up. "I need a dish washing helper. Any volunteers?"

Bristow glanced at Nadia then raised her hand.

Eric tapped his mouth once with his finger. "Hmm, I choose...you!" He rushed forward and tickled the little girl.

Bristow giggled.

Nadia lifted Bristow's bag to take it into the guest room.

"I'll put it away!" Bristow took the bag from her aunt.

She trotted off towards the guest room, but came to a complete halt in the doorway and looked into the room curiously.

Nadia approached the little girl.

"What's that?" Bristow asked, pointing at the crib.

"That's for the baby. That's where she's going to sleep. In a crib. Just like you did when you were little."

Bristow walked towards it slowly. "Is this going to be the baby's room?"

Nadia nodded. "Yes, I think so Bristow. Babies need a lot of attention, even in the middle of the night, so we need her to be close to our room."

"But where will I sleep?" the child asked.

Nadia frowned slightly and looked at Eric. She grinned. "Your uncle Eric is going to clean out a new room just for you. You'll get to help us decorate it. Okay?"

"Okay," Bristow answered. She eyed Nadia's tummy again. "I want to play with the baby. Will it play with me?"

"Oh, I'm sure she will. When she's big enough," Nadia assured her niece.

"Hey, I'm missing a dish washer!" Eric called as he headed towards the kitchen.

"Oh!" Bristow scampered after him.

* * *

Nadia unlocked the door and pushed it open. She closed it with a quiet sigh, and moved across the darkened living room towards the closet with a quiet sigh.

"Hey, gorgeous."

She jumped tearing herself out of her coat that he held onto. Before turning around and whapping his chest with her hand. "Don't do that!"

He put the coat in the closet immediately and frowned. "I'm sorry, Nadia."

"You aren't supposed to be back until tomorrow," she told him, moving towards a lamp and flipping it on.

"We got the intel we needed, scrapped surveillance and came home. Did Sydney get Bristow?"

"Yeah, two hours late last night."

"Did you two get along okay?" he asked hesitantly.

"Bristow told her there was a baby in my tummy. Sydney said she figured and then they left." Nadia moved and sat down on the couch.

"You wished you'd asked her about Bristow's secret?" He sat down beside her.

She got up almost immediately. "I did then. It doesn't seem so big right now." She turned away. "I'm going to go to bed."

"Already?"

"I'm exhausted, Eric!" she snapped. "This," she gestured to her ever growing belly, "isn't easy you know."

"Hey, hey," he soothed gently. "I know. I just thought you might be hungry."

"I'm not." She headed into the bedroom, knowing she left him curiously watching after her. She dug through her drawers in hunt for a loose fitting pair of pajamas that she could sleep in comfortably. It took her some time to find a pair of pants that fit below her belly and a lose enough shirt to fit over it and they didn't match. She shoved the drawer closed and curled up in the middle of the bed mashing pillows around her trying to get comfortable.

She had just finally settled when the door opened. She twisted her hand, gripping one of the pillows roughly rubbing her hands across it, trying to feel it.

"Nadia, what's going on?" He closed the bedroom door and moved to stand beside the bed. "Nadia?" He sat down on the edge.

Her face puckered.

"Hey, hey," He reached for her. "Talk to me."

"I can't feel it, Eric." Her hand lifted the pillow. "I can't feel it."

He reached for the pillow and put it down. "It's okay." He enveloped her carefully. "It's okay."

She shook her head. "No, it's not. I can't feel it, Eric! I can't feel her!" Her hand dropped to her belly and her voice fell to a whisper. "I can't feel the baby. I never have. I don't think I ever will."

He brushed his fingers through her hair. "Nadia, the doctor said people feel them at different times. It could take a few more weeks--"

"I saw the doctor! I went there today."

"What? Why? You didn't have an appointment today...did you?"

"No...no," she sniffled. "I was just afraid. I had this awful feeling something was wrong and I just had to go."

"What happened?"

"He did an ultrasound."

Eric swallowed. "What did they see?"

"I saw her, Eric. On the monitors. Moving so much. We could hear her heart. I saw her kicking." She realized her husband's expression and suddenly reassured him. "There was nothing wrong with her." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Only with me. We kept watching. I never felt anything. I am six months along, Eric. More than. It's not normal that when she kicks I don't feel _anything_. Even the doctor admitted that."

"Did he say anything else? What we should do?"

"He said my placenta isn't in front and he couldn't find any other reason I can't feel the baby. They can run more tests. He doesn't think they'll tell us anything. He wants my appointments to be more frequent. And he told me to be careful lifting as his big worry now is that I could hurt myself and not know I was doing it as I my back has dulled sensation as well."

"Then we'll do all of that," Eric decided.

"But it doesn't change anything. If I can't...if something happens and I don't feel...I can't be at the doctor's all the time. I can't know..."

"Nadia, Nadia," he whispered, planting kisses across her cheeks, the tip of her nose. "It's going to be okay. We'll figure it out."

She shook her head. "Sydney said this would happen."

"Said what? When? Today?" Eric questioned, trying to turn his wife to face him.

Nadia couldn't stop her tears. "No, when I first told her I might be pregnant months ago. She said that it wasn't safe for me to have a baby because what if I couldn't feel it? I didn't want to listen to her then. But what if I should have? She was right."

"No, Nadia. Our baby is going to be fine and so are you. We'll work around this. We can handle it."

"How?" she questioned, unable to keep the cry from voice.

His hand dropped to her belly. He felt around it gently pressing his fingers to the bare skin. "I can feel her, Nadia. Right here."

She watched as he took her other hand and began tapping it, with just enough force for her to feel, in rhythm with the movements he felt. And if he ocassionally tapped too lightly, just being able to watch his hand movements was helpful.

She stared hard at her hand, blinking rapidly as he would pause then tap again. The tears tumbled down her cheeks.

"We have a tough one," he said softly.

She finally pulled her hand and wrapped her arms around him, burrowing her face against his chest.

He finally moved his hand from her belly and embraced her, rubbing her back. She sniffled and stopped crying, finally taking a few breaths and trying to relax. After a few minutes, she sat up straighter and held her hand towards him again. "Do it again, please."

He smiled and placed his other hand back to her belly. "Alright, little girl," he told her stomach. "You may finish your very lively workout."

Nadia watched his finger taps a moment longer before looking up at him. "I think I know what I want to name her."

Eric's face brightened. "Oh? Finally! Let's hear it!"

"Eva," Nadia responded.

"Eva," Eric tested, with a smile. "It's pretty. I like it." He turned to her stomach. "Hello, Eva. We can't wait to see you."

Nadia moved her hand on top of the one Eric had over her belly and smiled back.

He glanced up at his wife, happy to see her smiling. "Hey, what made you decide Eva? What's it mean?"

Nadia let out a contented sigh. "Life."


	13. Chapter 13

**THIRTEEN**

Nadia maneuvered her grocery cart into the next aisle and began sifting through a pile of lavender sheets, on the search for a shade she wanted.

_"Tia!"_

Nadia turned her head in search of the voice.

_"Tia!"_

She saw Bristow dodging in front of carts as she ran down the aisle.

She smiled. "Hey, Bris." The little girl came to a breathless halt and gripped onto her aunt's leg. "I haven't seen you in a couple weeks. How are you?"

Bristow just kept holding onto her leg. Nadia ran a hand through the child's hair then looked around.

Sydney was stalking up the aisle, cell phone pressed to her ear. She raised her eyebrows and shook her head when she spotted her daughter.

"Hello, Sydney," Nadia greeted.

"Hello," Sydney said shortly before grabbing her daughter by the arm. "Let go of her now."

Bristow 's arms released Nadia and Sydney yanked the little girl to her. Bristow flinched. Sydney lowered her cell phone from her ear and frowned at the child. "You do _not_ run off in public places. You know better."

Bristow's lips formed into a pout and she blinked rapidly, starting to cry silently.

Nadia frowned at her sister. "She just saw me--"

Sydney took a moment to end her conversation and close her cellphone. "That's not an excuse. I turned around and she was gone." Sydney shook her head at her daughter. "I don't care who you've seen. You don't _do_ that. You want to get kidnapped?" She finally released the child's arm.

Bristow rubbed teary eyes on her sleeve, sniffling.

Nadia shot her sister a look and knelt towards her niece, giving Bristow a hug. "Hey, what have you been up to?"

"Not much. I have to get her to dance class in a half hour." Sydney looked past her sister to the sheets. "Decorating the baby's room?"

"Yes, in lavender," Nadia answered with a smile. She held two packages of sheets towards Bristow. "Which one do you like better?"

Bristow debated.

Nadia could feel Sydney staring at her.

"How are you?" Sydney questioned.

Bristow took one of the sheets from Nadia's hand. Nadia set the other back on the shelf and let a hand fall to her belly. "I'm good. We both are." Nadia smiled at the child. "Good choice, Bristow. Put them in the cart."

Bristow leaned over the edge and tossed them in.

"So I haven't seen you two in the last couple weeks. Have you had time off?" Nadia questioned.

Sydney gripped onto the child's hand. "We should get going."

The girl's head popped up to look at them and she shook her head.

Nadia frowned slightly. "You know, I'm done here. I could drop her off at dance."

"You don't have to. I've got it," Sydney answered.

"Please," Nadia responded. "I don't mind."

Bristow looked up her mother, hopefully.

"Fine," Sydney said with a sigh as her cell phone jingled. She tossed Bristow's small bag in Nadia's cart. "Behave," she told her daughter sternly. "I'll see you two later," she added as she started to head away.

Bristow clung to Nadia's leg again, hugging it.

"Let's go." They headed to checkout and the parking lot. "You should come over and help me decorate the baby's room. Would you like that?"

Bristow nodded.

Nadia strapped Bristow in her child-seat and sat down in the back with her a moment. "How are you, Bris?"

"Okay," the child answered.

Nadia was silent a moment, hoping for more but Bristow just stared at her stomach.

"How's the baby? Will it be here soon?"

"Not for a couple more months, Bris."

"I wish it was here now," Bristow responded.

Nadia smiled. "I wish she was here already too, sometimes. But then I'm glad she's not because her room's not ready yet. We do have a name for her now."

Bristow looked interested. "What's her name?"

"Her name is Eva," Nadia answered with a smile. "Do you like it?"

"Uh huh," Bristow answered.

"Good."

Bristow smiled, momentarily and then looked worried. "Do you think the baby will like me?"

"Oh I'm sure she'll adore you, Bris. You'll be her big cousin and she'll probably want to be just like you," Nadia assured her niece with a smile. "Okay, ready to go to dance?"

Bristow frowned. "No," she said softly.

"What do you mean no?"

"I want to stay with you," Bristow answered.

"Oh, but I'm sure you'll have fun at dance. More fun than you'd have with me. All I do is waddle around my house."

The child didn't answer.

Nadia moved to the front seat and started the car. It was a rather quiet drive to the dance studio even though Nadia kept trying to engage the child in conversation. Finally, in the parking lot, Nadia helped the child get into her leotard in the back of the car.

"There, all set. I'll walk you in." She gestured for Bristow to get out of the car.

"I don't want to go," Bristow whimpered.

"Bris, I will talk to your mom about letting you come back to my house when it's over okay?" She took the little girl's hand and started towards the building.

Bristow shook her head, actually starting to cry. "I don't want to go. I want to stay with you." She pulled her hand free. "I want to stay with you!" She gripped onto her aunt's leg.

Nadia blinked, hugging the child back, never knowing her niece to be even a little defiant. "Just tell me why, Bristow. Why don't you want to go in there?"

Bristow buried her face in her aunt's leg.

"Do you not like dancing?"

"I like dancing," Bristow whimpered.

Nadia stroked her fingers through the child's hair. "Then, why? Come on, Bris, you can tell me."

"They don't like me. I don't want to go. I want to stay with you."

"Who doesn't like you? The kids? Are you not making any new friends?"

"I want to stay with you! I want to stay with you!" The little girl broke into sobs, clinging ever tighter.

Nadia glanced towards the building and sighed. "Okay, Bris. It's okay. I guess missing one class isn't going to hurt. Was this your secret? That you don't like dance?"

Bristow shook her head.

Nadia waited a minute hoping Bristow would say more but the child didn't. "Let's get back in the car. Are you hungry?"

Bristow nodded.

"Let go get something to eat and then you can come back to my house for an hour before I take you home, okay?"

* * *

Nadia took a bracing breath before opening the front door and heading inside.

"I was just about to call you and tell you I'd pick her up," Sydney said, shedding her coat and tossing her keys back on the counter. "Class end early?"

Nadia gritted her teeth. "She didn't go."

Sydney's eyebrow's raised. "Why not?"

Nadia sighed. "I got her there and in her leotard and we were in the parking lot and she just started sobbing and saying she didn't want to go."

"She _what_? She never does that anymore." Sydney eyed the child disapprovingly. "You don't treat your aunt like that. What's wrong with you? Get in your room now."

Bristow skittered towards her bedroom immediately.

"Anymore?" Nadia questioned.

"She used to cry when I dropped her off but she hasn't lately." Sydney shook her head. "What did you two do all this time?" Sydney questioned.

"I got her something to eat. We went back to my house. She helped me decorate the baby's room for a bit."

"Yes, I can see how that was more appealing to her," Sydney answered dryly.

"Sydney, she seemed genuinely upset."

"You baby her, Nadia."

"She said she likes dancing but she also said something about the other kids not liking her."

"She just needs to take the time to make friends. You know how shy she is. She can't very well expect them to like her if she doesn't even talk to them. This whole class is supposed to help her with that. Though she needs to know that throwing a tantrum to get out of it is unacceptable."

"It wasn't much of a tantrum, Sydney. She just really didn't want to go there today. She clung to my leg--"

"I'm sorry, Nadia."

Nadia sighed. "I just wanted to know why. I didn't mind."

"I mind. You shouldn't have had to put up with that. You certainly don't need the stress." Sydney gestured to her sister's belly. "You should get going."

Nadia hesitated. "Are you sure? Maybe we could both talk to Bristow and find out what's wrong."

"Don't worry, I'll deal with it. She owes you an apology. Hold on." Sydney stalked off into the child's room.

Nadia frowned. "Syd, wait. She..." The door closed. "...doesn't," Nadia finished softly.

Nadia sighed and tried to sit down on the stool but it hurt her back and she stood back up and moved to the couch instead. She kept an eye on the closed door. It was quiet, eerily so. She had worried Sydney was about to shout and rant at the child.

The door remained closed several minutes longer and then opened with the sound of her sister's harsh whisper. "Now!"

Bristow came walking out of the bedroom slowly. Her face was red, her eyes glassy and she sniffled with each step. She almost stumbled once, as though dizzy but caught herself and reached the chair. "I'm sorry, _tia._ I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Nadia hugged the little girl to her. "It's okay, Bris. It's okay."

Bristow's arms wrapped back around her aunt's neck tightly. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry," she repeated.

Nadia squeezed her small niece gently.

"Let her go, Bristow," came Sydney's voice from behind them.

The child backed off immediately and Nadia got up from the chair giving her sister a wary glance. "Maybe she can come by again later this week?"

"Maybe," Sydney answered, non-commitally, arms crossed.

"Well, give me a call," Nadia answered. "I'll see you, Bristow."

"Bye," came the child's small voice.

Nadia sighed, left the house and drove home. She went in, put away her things and walked into the baby's room. It now contained the crib, a changing table, a plush rocking/recliner chair. Eric had painted the walls lavender the week before. Nadia sat down in the chair and rested her hands on either side of her belly.

"It's okay. It's okay," she whispered. "I won't ever treat you like that, I promise."

* * *

"Hey, what's this you're watching?" Eric plopped down on the couch beside her, coffee mug in hand.

"You are not seriously going to drink that right next to me?" Nadia grumbled.

He sighed. "I absolutely am...not." He got up and returned the mug to the counter before sitting down again, leaning in close.

"You still smell like coffee," she answered.

"Oh fine." He scooted over to the other side of the couch. "So, you're watching sports, finally. Eva needs to hear this!" He turned up the volume. "I'd forgotten how much you like soccer."

Nadia shot him a look.

"_Fútbol_," he self-corrected. "I'd forgotten how much you like _fútbol._"

She nodded.

"Ooo, goal, Eva!" He planted a hand on Nadia's stomach. "You want to be a soccer/_fútbol_ player, too, don't you?" He grinned at Nadia. "She agrees. She's kicking my hand." He pressed back a bit and moved his hand to a new spot. "Come on, Eva. Kick."

"You still think you can teach her to kick on command, don't you?" Nadia answered with a shake of her head.

"I most certainly do. I read all about it on the internet." He moved his hand again and leaned his head in close to the belly. "Kick, Eva."

Nadia looked at him expectantly. "Anything?"

"Well, not yet," he admitted. "She has to learn."

Nadia shook her head and returned her attention to the TV.

Weiss sat up and moved his hand to a new spot. "So how was you appointment today?"

"Everything's fine," she answered. "All the latest scans came back normal, so they don't know anything new."

"Ooo, goal! Goal, Eva, kick!"

"That's the _other_ team!" Nadia snapped.

"Oh who cares! It's a goal!"

Nadia shook her head at him. "If you can't stop talking over it, I'm not watching this with you anymore."

"Oh dear, Eva. Mommy's grumpy. What can we do?" He glanced at the screen as it faded off to commercial.

"Was Sydney working today?" she asked.

"All day. She was still there when I left," he answered. "Why?"

"She hasn't called us to watch Bristow in days. I wondered if she had time off."

"No, I don't think so. She's been there." Eric sighed. "Come on, Ev. Kick for Daddy, please." His face lit up. "Ooo, got one."

Nadia smiled. "Good girl. Only listen if Daddy asks nicely."

He straightened and moved closer to her again. "I always ask nicely." He leaned and pecked her lips.

She kissed him back then grimaced. "Coffee-breath. I never thought I'd truly miss the stuff."

"Two and half more months, Nadia," he tried, cheerily.

"Oh, so I take it _you_'ve decided to do the breastfeeding. Thank goodness, I wondered when we might discuss it," she laughed lightly, but shot him a serious look.

Eric sighed. "Okay, Daddy's losing big time here, kiddo," he told her stomach. He sat back. "I'll just be over here if you need me."

"Yeah, sit there and look cute," Nadia directed.

"Ooo, goal!"

"Eric!"

"Oh, wrong team. Sorry!"

"Eric!"

"I'm sorry!"

"It's not that."

He looked at her, concerned. "What?"

Her hand rested on her stomach. "Say that again."

"What?"

"No, goal. Say it again."

"Goal!" Eric obliged, cheerily.

Nadia smiled uncertainly then laughed. "Again."

"Goal!" he said, moving close to her.

"She's kicking. Every time you say it, she's kicking!" Nadia exclaimed, rubbing her hands over her belly.

Eric swallowed, watching his wife in wonderment. "And you feel it?"

Nadia blinked, her eyes starting to to tear. "Yes, barely, but I feel it..."

Eric placed his hand on the belly. "Goal!" Immediately, a tap came. "She is! And hard too!"

Tears ran down Nadia's cheeks. "I feel her, Eric. I can feel her."

He embraced her, Nadia's head resting on his shoulder. He kept one hand on her stomach. "Our little soccer player."


	14. Chapter 14

**FOURTEEN**

Nadia shifted in the bed.

"Eric…"

"What not comfy? Do I need to go to the couch?" he mumbled.

"No…I hear the phone," she answered.

"What time is it?" he asked, groggily.

"After one in the morning," Nadia elbowed him and made him uncurl from around her.

He rolled over to his side.

Nadia climbed out of bed, closed the door all but a crack and grabbed the phone in the living room. "Hello?"

"_Tia?_"

"Bristow? Bristow, what's wrong?"

"Can you come get me?" There was a cry in the child's voice.

"Bris, what's going on? Why do you want me to come get you?"

"I can't sleep."

"Why not?"

"Please come get me, _tia_. Please."

Nadia frowned. "Bris, what is it? Did you have a bad dream?"

"Yeah," the little girl answered. "Can you come now?"

Nadia sat down on the couch. "What was your dream about, Bristow? Can you tell me?"

"It was scary. I want to be at your house."

Nadia opened her mouth to answer but was cut off by a voice on the opposite end.

"Bristow! What are you doing? Who are you talking to?"

"_Tia_ Nadia," Bristow answered, softly.

"You called her at one o'clock in the morning? Why would you do that?"

"I couldn't sleep," Bristow's voice was softer still, barely audible on the other end.

"Give me that phone. You don't call people in the middle of the night. Your aunt needs her rest. You want something bad to happen to her or her baby?"

"Sydney!" Nadia shouted into the phone.

Sydney's voice finally came directly into the line. "I'm sorry, Nadia."

"I'm pregnant, Syd, not dying. And you certainly didn't rest much when you were pregnant."

"And I never heard the end of it, especially from you. I thought you'd want to use more care. Especially with your complications—"

"I'm not jumping on airplanes, going around the world and barely sleeping more a couple hours a day. One phone call after midnight isn't going to kill me. She was scared and needed someone to talk to."

"Well, she shouldn't be up this late calling people anyway. I don't care why. Get some sleep, Nadia. Good night."

"Syd—"

Eric poked his head out of the bedroom. "Nadia, what's going on? Who's on the phone?"

Nadia frowned. "Bristow called me because she had a bad dream. But she woke up Sydney too and she wasn't happy. There was just something so wrong about her tone when she hung up on me." She got up. "I have to go over there, Eric. I have to check on her."

He narrowed his eyes, concerned. "I'll go," he said. "Stay here."

"We both will, because I'm coming too." The two moved and tossed coats over their pajamas and headed out to the car.

They drove to the house.

Nadia pressed the doorbell several times before it was finally answered by her groggy-looking sister.

"Nadia, what's the matter?"

"Can we come in?" Nadia questioned.

Sydney backed up and allowed them to enter. "Are you okay?" she questioned.

Nadia looked around. "I'm fine. How's Bristow?"

"She's asleep, like she should have been at this hour," Sydney responded.

"She went back to sleep?"

"Yes…." Sydney answered, looking from Nadia to Eric. "You don't mind being up right now?"

Nadia went to Bristow's closed bedroom door and inclined her head against it, listening. She didn't hear anything. Finally, she turned the knob and pushed it open.

Bristow was lying face down in the bed, half covered by a sheet. She was quiet and still.

Nadia swallowed and approached the bed quietly. "Bris?" she asked gently.

There was a quiet whimper in response. Nadia ran her hand over Bristow's head and the child turned to face her. Her eyes remained pinched closed. Her face was blotchy and tear stained.

"Bris?"

The child sniffled but her eyes didn't open.

"Bris, it's aunt Nadia."

Bristow stirred slightly. "Sorry," came a tired mumble and the girl turned her face away again.

Nadia sighed.

"Don't wake her up please," Sydney said, from the doorway. "Even if you're not concerned about your rest, I'm concerned about hers."

Nadia got up from the bed. "You sounded so angry on the phone," she began quietly. "I was worried."

"I was angry," Sydney admitted. "And concerned. Is that why you came over here? Look at her, she's fine."

"She's been crying."

"She had a nightmare and she got in trouble. She cries over every little thing." Sydney patted her sister's shoulder. "Your maternal instincts really are on overdrive, aren't they?"

Nadia hesitated, watching Bristow rest.

"It's late, Nadia. And your husband is falling asleep in my living room. I mean this in the nicest way, go home." Sydney forced a smile.

Nadia sighed. "Okay. Okay." She followed her sister back out of the room and poked Eric awake. "We can go. She's asleep."

"Alright." Eric got up and followed her out.

Nadia stopped on the doorstep outside the apartment and shuddered once.

Eric took her hand. "You want to tell me what that was about?"

"I really thought for a minute that she was going to hurt her," Nadia answered. "She can be so cold towards Bristow sometimes, and I just don't know. When people are like that, it can be so easy for them to just…" She stopped abruptly and headed for the car. She sat down in the passenger's side seat and let him drive home.

She knew he kept tossing her worried glances the whole ride. When they parked back at their own apartment, he undid his seatbelt and sat quietly beside her. "Nadia?" he asked gently.

"Before I was taken to the orphanage in Argentina, I was cared for by the KGB. They ran experiments. They used that horrible green fluid. My arms were always bruised from the needles and I was always so, so tired." She shivered and felt the crooks of her elbows gently, as though afraid of aggravating bruises that were no longer there. "The people that took care of me were...cold.

"I normally did whatever they told me. Except when they were going to take to me the lab. I tried to hide at first, but they always found me. And so for awhile I thought I could fight them. I'd kick and scream and scratch and bite. At first, they would just drag me in anyway. I think they thought I'd realize it wasn't working and give up. But I kept it up. I wasn't going to make it _easy_ for them." Her tone was disgusted. "I think they must have just gotten fed up one day. They came to me and when I started to fight they just...snapped."

"Oh Nadia..." Eric reached for her but she turned slightly, discouraging him from touching her.

"I was so surprised, I just froze. I didn't even fight them after the first time they hit me but the blows just kept coming. I started to wonder if they were going to stop. I cried. I think I may have screamed. And when they were finally done they dragged me down to the lab. I remember how painful it was to be in that chair." She trembled. "How forward I tried to sit so my back wouldn't touch anything but it just made it worse to be sitting at all. After that, when they came for me, I never fought. If I even looked like I was going to, they would..."

She finally leaned to the side resting her head against his shoulder and let him embrace her.

"I was so scared," she whispered. "Back then, tonight. It felt...the same. I'm sorry, maybe I should have told you before I dragged you out here--"

"You don't have to be sorry, Nadia. You were doing what you thought was right and I was backing you up. It's good that you care so much."

"But she's my sister. That's her daughter. I don't know how I could think of her like those people--"

Eric sighed. "You haven't had the most perfect track record with family. But Sydney spends all day everyday trying to make things safer for her and Bristow. It's practically an obsession."

"My father had an obsession too. Obsessions can make people...different." She finally undid her seatbelt and opened the car door.

They headed into the house.

* * *

She waited until late afternoon while Eric was at work to go back over to Sydney's house. She knocked on the door with no idea what she was going to say to her sister. What she was going to ask. Was she going to admit the fears she'd had the previous night or just ask to see Bristow?

The door was opened, but not by Sydney.

It was by a girl, who couldn't have been past twenty-two or so with wavy, fire red hair and grey eyes. "Can I help you?" she asked cheerfully.

"Who are you?" Nadia demanded. "Where's Bristow?"

The girl narrowed her red eyebrows. "Nadia?"

"Yes, who are you?" Nadia questioned.

"Oh I've seen your pictures around the house. Miss Bristow's sister?"

"Yes..." Nadia confirmed.

"I'm Jillian. It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Bristow's nanny."

"Nanny," Nadia said in disbelief. "Since when?" She came into the house.

"It's been several months now," Jillian responded. "I'm here during most days during the week and I stay overnight now and then when needed."

"Sydney didn't tell me she hired a nanny," Nadia stated, carefully. "Where's Bristow?"

"In her room," Jillian answered. "She's been in there most of the day. I was in there with her except when I'm cleaning. I've only been able to get her to come out for meals though she barely ate any of her breakfast or lunch."

"When is Sydney supposed to be back?"

"Not today," Jillian answered. "Mr. Bristow is supposed to pick up Bristow from here this evening and she'll spend the night at his house. I'll pick her back up in the morning."

Nadia started towards the bedroom and paused. "Was there anything unusual about Bristow today?"

"Not really. She was quiet, but she's always quiet," Jillian answered. "She just didn't seem very happy. Miss Bristow said she didn't sleep very well last night."

"I don't know if any of us did. I'm going to go say hi." Nadia poked her head into the child's room.

Bristow was lying on the floor on her stomach, coloring meticulously.

"Hey, Bris," Nadia greeted.

Bristow's crayon slowed. "Hey," she said quietly.

"I just met Jillian. You didn't tell me you had a nanny," Nadia said, with a smile. "Was Jillian your secret?"

"Yes. Mommy told me not to. She said you'd be mad."

"I'm not mad. I just didn't know. What do you think? Do you like her?"

Bristow shrugged.

"Hey, look at me," Nadia said, gently. "Are you okay?" She sat down on the edge of Bristow's bed. "Come here."

Bristow got up off the floor and came to stand beside Nadia. "I'm okay."

"Anything you want to talk about?"

Bristow swallowed. "Is the baby okay?"

Nadia smiled. "Of course. She's wide awake and moving everywhere. Feel." She reached towards Bristow's hand.

The little girl jumped slightly. "I shouldn't."

"Why not?

"I don't want to hurt the baby," Bristow whispered.

"You can't hurt the baby, Bris. Here, feel." She reached more slowly and guided Bristow's hand to the spot. "Feel that. Eva's just fine."

Bristow bit her lip and nodded.

"I think she likes you, Bris. She only woke up after I got here," Nadia responded. She put her arms around the little girl. "I miss you, and I don't care if you call me in the middle of the night. If you need me, you call me, okay?"

The child didn't answer.

"I just wanted to see you today. You want to come over?"

"I have dance class," Bristow answered. "I better get ready."

"You want to go dance class today?" Nadia questioned.

"I better get ready," Bristow said, again.

"Okay. Maybe I'll see you later?" Nadia smiled. She took a bracing breath and came out of the bedroom.

She stopped at the young woman folding laundry.

"Jillian? If Bristow wants to see me today, feel free to give me a call, okay?"

"Alright. Is she getting dressed for dance?"

"Yes. Nice to meet you, Jillian." Nadia headed out the door, sighed and pulled out her cell phone. She sat down in her car as it rang.

"Hello."

"Hi, Sydney. You're at work?"

"About to grab some lunch. Why?"

"I just met Jillian."

"Oh...really?"

"Why didn't you tell me, Syd? You hired a nanny? After you were so against it before?"

"I had to, Nadia. I realized that as soon as we had that fight about me leaving Bristow alone. I needed to have arrangements to have someone always there to watch her."

"And you didn't want that person to be me?"

"You're pregnant, Nadia. You don't need the burden of chasing around a three-year-old all day, everyday."

"Bristow's not a burden. And somehow people with more than one child get by."

"But Bristow's not _your_ child," Sydney reminded sharply. "And you don't need the stress."

"I am so tired of you trying to dictate to me how much stress I can handle."

"Hey, your husband is the one who came over to my house and told me that I had better not ever upset you ever again."

Nadia blinked. "He what?"

"Didn't he mention it? He came over a couple months ago and ranted at me about how you didn't need me making you feel bad about this pregnancy or your health or something. I tried to respect that by not dropping Bristow off to your all the time, anytime, anymore."

"You barely let us see her at all."

"I really can't win with you, can I? I spend too little time with my daughter. I spend too much. I make you watch her too often. I don't let you see her often enough. I don't supervise her enough. I hired a nanny. Really, Nadia. When you have your baby, you can parent it however you want. In the meantime, please, stop scrutinizing every little thing I do."

"I just want to know why you didn't tell me."

"Maybe because I knew you'd act like this. Sometimes, I wish you'd take into account that I don't needed any added stress either. Now, I need lunch. Bye, Nadia."

The call ended before Nadia had the chance to say anything else.

Nadia waited a moment before dialing her husband at work.

"Nadia, are you okay?" came his voice on the line halfway through the first ring.

"I just dropped by Sydney's."

"Again? What happened?" he asked, concerned.

"She hired a nanny months ago and never told us."

"I know you were hoping she wouldn't, but a nanny has to be better than her leaving Bristow alone," Eric tried to reassure her.

"Maybe," Nadia responded. "She also said that you told her not to bother me. Is that true?"

"Yes and no."

"Eric," she questioned, sharply.

"I was just so upset that night when you were telling me you couldn't feel the baby and the things Sydney had said. I just didn't want her saying anything else that was going to make things worse. But I never told her we couldn't still watch Bristow, Nadia."

"I wish you'd told me this before."

He sighed. "I'm sorry."

"I'm going to go. I'll see you later."

Nadia closed her phone and headed back towards their apartment.

* * *

"Now, you must listen very carefully to Daddy, Eva. Are you listening?" Eric lifted his ear from his wife's belly. "Is she awake you think?"

"She moved a minute or two ago," Nadia assured him, returning her attention to the dishes she was placing in the cupboard above them.

"Alright, Eva. Your due date has come and gone. Three days ago. And Mommy and Daddy are very eager to see you. Now, you must come out because punctuality is very important and in another day or two, you'll be very, very late. It's not polite to keep people waiting. Especially your mother. Now your room is all ready for you. And we are ready to wait on you hand and foot. So, I think it's time you made your appearance. Don't you?" He lifted his head again. "Anything?"

Nadia shook her head at him. "Look, you know she's working on it. We've had a false alarm already. I get contractions all the time. The doctor's certain it'll be soon." She put another cup in the cupboard.

Eric sighed. "Don't remind me about the false alarm. I almost died that night."

"You did not," Nadia protested. "I was the one in pain."

"I rushed to get up to that hospital from work but when your father saw that I hadn't teleported myself to by your side the second I got the phone call... His eyes just narrowed and his whole expression was like stone and I got a lecture about what if this had been the real thing and how my tardiness was unacceptable." Eric turned to her belly and placed a hand on either side. "Hear that Eva, your grandfather does not appreciate tardiness." He shivered. "Wait, never mind that I mentioned him. I promise if you come out, I won't let him near you!"

"Eric!" Nadia snapped sharply.

"What? If I knew Arvin Sloane was waiting on _me_, I'd be hiding out too. See, maybe that's why she's not here yet. Perhaps you should promise her that you won't let him near her either."

A playful thwap hit the top of his head. "Stop trying to scare our daughter." She waddled to the sink of dirty dishes.

There was a knock at the door.

Nadia sighed. "I'm not expecting anyone. I need everyone to just leave me alone until this happens."

"Sydney, you think?"

"Even she wouldn't dare, right now," Nadia responded.

"I'll get it okay." Weiss made his way to the door and took a peep out the window. His eyes widened. "Speak of the devil..." he mumbled.

"Who is it?" Nadia questioned, coming into the living room a wet dish in hand.

"Your father," Eric responded. "Put that down. And go sit down."

"Eric, open the door," she insisted.

"Please, Nadia."

The knock came again.

Eric moved forward and grabbed the dish from her hand. "Sit, sit, please. If he sees you doing housework, I'm a dead man."

Nadia shook her head, brushed past him and answered the door herself. "Hello, Dad. Please come in."

"Nadia," Sloane greeted, warmly, a kiss to her cheek. "What are you doing answering the door?" He stepped inside and gave Eric a glare.

Eric held up the dish. "I was in the kitchen, on my way. But uh, slippery hands."

Sloane gave Nadia a supporting hand and guided her to the couch. "How are you feeling? Any more false alarms?"

"No, it's really been a rather quiet week, unfortunately." She sat down slowly, obviously uncomfortable.

Sloane eyed the nearby footstool.

Eric abandoned the dish on the coffee table and pushed the footstool closer.

Nadia lifted her legs and rested them on it once it was close enough and smiled. "Thank you."

Weiss smiled too and started to sink into the chair behind him.

"She should have a pillow for her back," Sloane said.

Eric popped back up. "Of course. Right." He reached for one of the throw pillows in the chair behind him.

Sloane gave him a sharply disapproving look. "Those are too flat to be of any use."

Eric swallowed hard and headed for the bedroom.

"So, what brings you by this evening?" she asked her father, trying to draw his attention.

"I was nearby," Sloane responded. "And I wanted to know how you were doing. If you were getting enough rest..." He rubbed one of her hands lightly and kissed it gently.

Eric came out of the bedroom with a suitable pillow and began placed it behind Nadia's back.

"Your hands smell of soap," Sloane told his daughter.

Eric felt himself starting to perspire slightly.

"I just washed them," Nadia responded.

"In dish soap?" Sloane questioned, a raised eyebrow turning into a furious stare directed at his son-in-law. "Agent Weiss, I thought I had made myself rather clear about the standard of care I expected you to give my daughter at this time--"

"Dad!" Nadia cut in. "She's moving, would you like to feel?" She guided her father's hand to the spot before he could say any more. "Eric, could you get me some tea?"

Eric let out a breath. "Yes." He started to back away slowly.

Nadia smiled, watching him go. _I'm sorry,_ she mouthed.

He nodded and made his escape to the kitchen. He took a few deep breaths starting to compose himself as he dug out a tea cup and some tea. He was filling the cup with water when he felt footsteps behind him.

He spun quickly.

"How's it coming?"

"Nadia! What are you doing? Go back and sit down."

"It's alright. He got a phone call. I told him to take it in the nursery. It sounded important. He'll be awhile. Are you okay?"

"I will be okay when he leaves. Sit, sit!" He peeked out, afraid he was going to see Sloane coming.

Nadia shook her head and grabbed for cup of water. "Can I have that please, before you spill it?"

Eric turned to her stomach. "Eva, your grandfather's going to kill me if your mommy doesn't get off her feet."

Nadia shuffled through the box of tea. "As long as he knows you didn't call me in here, he's not going to get that upset."

Eric took another worried glance towards the nursery door. "You know the baby moving trick won't work forever. Possibly the only thing that could distract him now is labor. You think maybe you could try that now?"

She laughed and pecked his cheek. "I doubt it."

He dropped slightly and touched her stomach with both hands. "Eva, if you don't come out now, your grandfather might have a chance to kill me before we get to see each other. So help me out here."

"Help _you_ out?" Nadia snapped, stepping back. "Yes, I'd forgotten how much me carrying around thirty extra pounds was wearing on _you_." She shoved the tea cup back into his hand. "Extra sugar please." She headed back to the couch. She settled just as Sloane emerged from the nursery.

"I apologize for the interruption, but I'm afraid I have to go into APO. Will you be all right?"

Eric emerged from the kitchen tea cup in hand.

Nadia gave her husband a debating look. "We'll be fine," she answered. Her father kissed her cheek.

"Leaving so soon?" Eric questioned.

"I will call and check on you in the morning," Sloane assured her, tossing a glance in Eric's direction. "I trust you'll stay off your feet."

Eric handed over the tea to his wife. "I'll walk you out," he offered.

"No need," Sloane responded. "Good night." He walked to the door.

Eric waited until it closed to plop down in relief on the couch beside Nadia.

"I think that went well," Nadia said, with a smile.

"Judging by _what_?" Eric questioned.

"Well, you're still breathing," she answered, sipping her tea.

"Just barely. We have got to get this baby born. I can't take any more of this."

"What makes you think her being born will solve anything? Then, he'll have _both_ me and a baby to drop in unexpectedly to check on."

"Oh, I see. You're just going to have to stay pregnant forever," Eric said with a nod.

Nadia's eyes widened and she put her cup aside and placed her hands on her belly. "Eva? Come out, Eva. Weren't you listening when your father was speaking to you?"


	15. Chapter 15

**FIFTEEN**

"You know, I took today off work because I knew if Sloane saw me around the office, he might shoot me." He pulled his shoes on. "I'm not so sure it's going to be any different if he runs into me at the supermarket."

Nadia looked at him from her spot on the couch. "You'll be gone fifteen minutes tops. "

"What if he calls? He's been calling like crazy the last two days, ever since he dropped by. You think he bugged the house? Or just the nursery? He could be listening right now. Waiting to see if I actually leave you alone."

Nadia held up a piece of paper. "My list."

Eric walked over and took it. "Nadia…I thought you just wanted one--"

"Eric—"

"But your father—"

"Stop focusing so much on my father. If you don't get out of here, then I'm the one who's going to shoot you."

He blinked. "Alright, I'm out of here. My cell's on if anything should happen." He pocketed her list, gave her a light kiss and headed out the door.

Nadia put aside the baby clothes she'd been folding and turned on the TV, shifting herself several times, before sighing and getting up to use the bathroom.

There was an insistent knock on the door the minute she emerged from the bathroom.

It had to be her father again. She wondered if she could convince him Eric leaving her alone wasn't some mean, horrible, careless thing. She waddled up to the door and braced herself as she opened it.

"_Tia_!"

"Bristow!"

The child threw her arms at her aunt's leg.

Nadia looked up to see Jillian with a worried frown. "Come in. It's nice of you two to visit."

Jillian sighed. "Look, Sydney was supposed to be back yesterday and I was supposed to be off. I've done everything I can to rearrange my schedule for last night and today, but I have this exam I have to be at in an hour. I'll be gone for two or three hours tops. I know it's imposing of me to leave her here on such short notice but I don't know what else to do or who else to call. I packed her bag and—"

"Jillian, calm down. It's fine. It's fine."

Jillian's eyes zeroed in on Nadia's bulging belly. "Are you sure? I…I could talk to my professor."

"She's my niece, I'll manage," Nadia responded. "And my husband has the day off today. He'll be back in few minutes from the store."

Jillian sighed. "I'll be right back to get her."

Nadia placed a hand on the child's head. "Don't rush. I don't see any reason why she can't stay here tonight."

"Oh, thank you, so much."

"Don't worry about it. You should get going."

Jillian nodded. "I'll see you soon, Bristow." She hurried off down the walk.

Nadia turned and hugged her niece as best she could. "How are you, Bris?"

"Okay," the little girl answered. "There's no baby yet?"

"No," Nadia sighed. "Not yet." She headed back over to the couch. "Are you hungry?"

"I had eggs for breakfast."

"Did you have lunch?" Nadia questioned.

Bristow shook her head.

"Neither have I and I'm starving," Nadia responded. "Let's go see what's in the refrigerator. Uncle Eric is supposed to be buying some food, but I think we might be able to have a sandwich."

Nadia made her way into the kitchen with the child behind her. She pulled opened the fridge door. "Hmm, ham, cheese, bread? Sound good to you?"

"Uh huh," Bristow answered.

Nadia pulled the ingredients from the refrigerator and placed them on the counter. "Has your mother been gone long?"

"Yeah. I went to two dance classes since she left."

"How are those going?" Nadia questioned. "Have you made any friends?"

Bristow shrugged. "I want to come here more."

"I wish you came over more too," Nadia responded. "I miss you."

"You do?" Bristow asked, excitedly.

"Very much."

"I miss you too," Bristow said, softly gripping her leg again.

Nadia smiled. "Okay, grab some napkins. Let's go to the table."

Bristow did as told and started to lead the way into the dining room. Nadia lifted the two sandwich plates.

Nadia's eyes widened. She swallowed and put the plates back down and remained in place at the counter.

Bristow came back out of the dining room. "I put the napkins down."

"That's good, Bristow," Nadia responded, forcing a smile.

Bristow stared at her aunt and then at the floor. "Tia, the floor's all wet."

"I know, Bris."

"Did you spill water?" Bristow asked.

Nadia grimaced slightly and started to nod. "Yes, I think I did."

Bristow was silent a moment, watching Nadia, waiting for her to do something. She looked at the water and then at the sandwiches but she didn't move. Finally, she asked, "Tia, are you okay?"

"Bristow," Nadia said gently. "I think the baby's going to be here very soon." She finally dared to move. A dull pinching pain she had come to recognize as contractions swept through her. She took a few deep breaths and handed Bristow her sandwich. "Go ahead and eat. I need to clean this up," she told her niece.

Bristow nodded hesitantly and went back into the dining room.

Nadia got a mop to clean up the kitchen and then changed clothes. She glanced at her watch. Eric had to be back any minute. She put a bag by the door. She turned and found the dull pinching was starting to not feel quite so dull. It had never reached a point of actual intense pain during any of her other contractions before, even the ones she'd feared were real labor. But with her dull sensation, she'd thought that it might never actually hurt. She hissed a a breath and took a seat in a chair.

Bristow emerged from the dining room. "I'm all done." She presented her empty plate for inspection.

"You can put it on the counter, Bris," Nadia said, focusing on trying to time the contraction. But it frustrated her that she didn't know whether the contraction had truly ended or if she just couldn't feel it anymore. She found herself trying to count through a gap in feeling and her only indication that it had been truly over was when the pain started to sharpen again.

Bristow came back out of the kitchen slowly and sat down on the couch.

Nadia started to stand up just as she felt the pain sharpening rapidly again. She looked at the clock. Over a half an hour had passed since her water breaking. Why wasn't Eric back yet?

"Bris, can you hand me the phone?"

The little girl scampered to get it immediately, running back with the cordless in her hand.

"Thank you." Nadia dialed quickly, as she braced herself for a newly sharpening contraction.

The phone rang and to her dismay went to voice mail. "Eric? You need to get back here now. My water broke." She saw her niece watching her with round, dark eyes. She closed the phone just before she let out a groan.

Bristow looked worried. "Tia?"

"It's okay, Bris. I'm okay." Nadia couldn't force an actual smile for the child.

"It's hurts a lot?" the little girl asked.

"Yeah." Nadia grimaced. "Go put your coat and shoes on, Bris."

The little girl did so immediately. Nadia went and put on her own coat and took her bag. "Come on. We have to go to the hospital."

"Without Uncle Eric?" Bristow asked with wide eyes.

"He'll come join us soon." Nadia sighed and the two headed out the door to the hospital.

Nadia made herself not speed, as she didn't want to be reckless with her niece in the backseat. But she couldn't count her own contractions as ending. The pain seemed to simply sharpen, decrease only slightly and the increase sharply again. Her eyes were watering when she got Bristow out of the car and checked in at the hospital.

"How long ago did say your water broke?" a nurse questioned.

"An hour, but--"

"We'll page your doctor and get you in a room." The nurse responded. She turned and eyed Bristow. "Who is this?"

"My niece." Nadia responded.

"It's against our policy to allow anyone this young into the labor and delivery area. Is someone coming for her?"

Bristow bit her lip, starting to look uncomfortable and cling more to Nadia.

"My husband should be here as soon as I get a hold of him, but no one else can take her right now. She has to stay with me," Nadia answered. She took another deep breath, still grimacing.

The nurse sighed. "Let's get you set up in a room and then we'll have to figure this out."

Nadia was taken to room, hooked up to various monitors. Even as her pain was constantly on the increase, she tried to make sure she didn't scare Bristow, who was already wide eyed in the room. Nadia used the phone in her room to attempt to call Eric but it again rang to voicemail. A nurse came in and asked her some questions.

When finished, the nurse smiled. "The doctor will be soon to check your progress." She stopped and glanced at Bristow. "I can't let her stay in here without another person to supervise her."

Nadia frowned. "She's really very good and quiet. She's not going to get in the way."

"The doctor is not going to like it. I can take her the hall while he's in here and then...I don't know. What's her name?"

"Bristow," Nadia responded.

The nurse nodded. "Come with me, Bristow."

The little girl shook her head, with a fearful look.

"It's okay, Bris," Nadia assured her niece

"We're going to wait outside while your mommy gets examined by the doctor."

Breathing through a contraction distracted Nadia from correcting the woman that she was Bristow's aunt.

The little girl followed hesitantly.

The doctor came in moments later and began checking equipment readings then did an exam.

"Waited until the last minute to come in hmm?" the doctor questioned.

Nadia frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You are over eight centimeters dilated," the doctor responded. "You're in transition."

Nadia's eyes widened. "But my water only broke..." She looked at the clock. "Two hours ago."

"Well, it's not rare for it to happen well into a labor. I'm expecting steady progress. I think you are going to be delivering this baby sooner rather than later."

"But I haven't even gotten a hold of my husband yet!" Nadia exclaimed.

The doctor sighed. "I know it may not be the way you planned, but if there's anyone else you'd like to call, you're going to want to do so now. Excuse me, I need to prep."

Nadia sighed and dialed Eric's cell phone once more and hung up when it went to voice mail. She sat back, took a couple deep breaths, but she still started to cry from both pain and frustration. She gripped the phone again and dialed. It was answered almost immediately. She sniffled. "Dad...I..."

"Uncle Eric!" came her niece's squeal from the hallway.

"I'll call you back," she said quickly hanging up the phone as Eric walked briskly into the room carrying Bristow.

"How are you?" he questioned, concerned.

"How do you think?" she questioned. "Where were you?"

"The store...I think it's a dead zone. My cell phone didn't get any reception until I left and then I got your message and I went home and you weren't there and I came here...I probably should have called the hospital to have them tell you I was on my way but I just didn't want to lose any more time. Are you okay?"

"I apparently didn't start feeling the labor until late. I don't think it hurts as much as it's supposed to but I definitely feel it," she responded.

Eric reached out and took her hand.

"And they kept telling me Bristow can't be in here," Nadia said, exasperated.

Eric put Bristow down and directed her to go sit. "What is she doing here?" he asked softly.

"Sydney was supposed to be back from a trip already and the nanny couldn't keep Bristow any longer. So she asked if she could leave her with me. I thought it would be fine. But then my water broke and now, look at her, she's so confused."

"I think she's doing alright," Eric replied. "Do you not want her in here?"

"I don't care, I just don't want to scare her." She squeezed his hand a little harder and started to breathe rapidly. "And I don't want her passed off to random nurses."

"Nadia, right now, she's fine," Eric said, gently. "You just focus on the main event here."

She shut her eyes some and attempted to take long, full breaths.

A nurse came into the room and looked at the machine. "These are coming right on top of each other. The doctor should be in momentarily. Keep breathing steadily and even if you feel the urge to push, don't."

Nadia's eyes opened briefly when the nurse moved to check the machines again. "Eric? What's Bristow doing? Is she okay?"

"She's coloring with some paper and crayons from her backpack. She's fine."

She could feel herself trembling and she leaned against him.

"Nadia?" he asked, concerned.

"It hurts," she whispered, biting back a cry. She held onto him with a death grip and even he shifted slightly at his numbing arm.

"Breathe...breathe..." he said, gently.

She turned more towards him and muffled a cry into his chest.

It took all his energy not tear up at the strangled noise and her severely pained expression when she finally lay back in the bed. She kept her eyes closed, but didn't seem to have a moments rest as she started to inhale and exhale again, quickly.

"You're doing great," Eric whispered in her ear.

Her face puckered. "No...I'm not."

"You are," he insisted.

She just shook her head, twisting to muffle her new cries in her pillow.

Eric swallowed. "Nadia, please, if you need to cry or shout, just do it."

Nadia shook her head.

Eric's eyes drifted to Bristow, watching from the corner. "Look, I know you don't want her passed off to anybody, but if you can't do what you need to do to get through this with her in here, she can't stay in here, Nadia. I mean, her eyes might pop out of her head when it's finally time for Eva to come out. I mean, I think they might pop out of mine so, maybe it is best if she's with a nurse in the hall..."

"No," Nadia protested.

Eric sighed, debating if it was possible she'd rip his arm off completely if he did it anyway.

It was quiet again for a moment and then Nadia opened her eyes all the way. "I think...they stopped."

The nurse looked at the machine. "They do seem to be easing, yes. You're probably fully dilated. They'll be coming further apart now. Relax and gather your strength."

Nadia nodded as a receptionist entered the room.

"Mrs. Weiss, a man just arrived requesting to be allowed in to see you," the receptionist explained.

Eric raised an eyebrow.

The receptionist squinted at the message paper she had in hand. "He calls himself Mr. Sloane?"

Eric straightened. "He knows you're here? I'm telling you, our house is bugged from top to bottom."

"Not exactly," Nadia responded, tiredly. "I...I called him."

"When?" her husband questioned. "Why?"

"Just before you got here. I couldn't reach you and they'd told me this was happening now. I didn't know who else to call."

Eric looked worried. "Uh oh. He knows I wasn't here?"

"I don't know. I didn't say that," she answered, with a sigh.

"We generally don't allow very many visitors in the room during the delivery," the nurse noted.

Eric nodded, emphatically. "And that is an excellent policy. He should wait outside."

"Alright," the receptionist answered.

"Wait," Nadia interjected.

Her husband turned to her. "Nadia, please. I would like to be alive for this birth and if he gets in here--"

"I think maybe he should watch Bristow." Nadia's eyes went back to the corner where the girl was no longer coloring, but studying them all.

The receptionist smiled and offered a hand to a child.

Bristow frowned. "But I want to see the baby."

Eric walked over to her. "You will, very soon. I'll come and get you as soon as she's here, okay?"

"Okay," Bristow answered, reluctantly. She let the receptionist take her hand and was taken from the room.

Nadia watched them go. "Maybe you should have taken her to him."

Eric smiled at her. "I love Bris, but you're just going to have to deal with my complete, undivided attention until this baby is born."

The door opened again immediately with the doctor entering briskly. He checked monitors, got an update from the nurse and did a quick exam.

He smiled reassuringly. "Alright, Nadia. Another contraction is starting. This time, I want you to start pushing."

* * *

"Seven pounds, six ounces. 20 inches long. Alright, who's going to hold her now?" the nurse questioned, lifting the now wrapped and capped newborn.

Eric moved forward and took the baby into his arms.

Nadia shook her head at him. "If I could stand right now..."

"You had a turn, already," Eric responded, cuddling his daughter.

"Only while they wiped her off," Nadia answered.

"Nuh uh, you had nine months," he countered.

Nadia laughed, lightly. "Those don't count."

"Sure they do." He moved closer to the bed. "So the next nine months are all mine."

"Oh really? Including all the diapers?"

"I can handle diapers," Eric assured her.

"And what about feedings?"

Eric sighed. "Okay, she's all mine except for that."

"You can start trying to feed her now if you wish," the nurse said with a smile.

Eric shot the nurse a mock-disapproving look. "You just had to mention that, didn't you?"

Nadia's arms lifted expectantly.

"Alright, alright." He lowered the baby into his wife's arms.

Nadia took a moment just to admire her daughter. She had almost navy-blue newborn eyes, and wisps of dark hair peeked out from beneath the cap. Finally, with direction from the nurse, she started to try feeding the baby.

"This is still so unreal," she whispered. "I think going to cry."

"Again?" Eric questioned.

She almost managed to elbow him but he moved.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with crying. Cry as much as you want. I'll hold her 'til you're done." He grinned.

"Nice try," she responded, placing her finger in the baby's small hand and watching the girl's fingers curl and uncurl.

Eric waited impatiently. "See, we have to have another one soon. Sharing just one baby is too hard. At least if we had two, then we could trade and neither one of us would ever have to be baby-less."

Nadia smiled. "Okay, okay. You can hold her again now."

Eric eagerly took the baby back.

The nurse nodded. "So, are you ready for your visitors?"

Eric debated. "Hmm, well I only promised Bristow she would get to see--"

"Yes, we are," Nadia replied.

The nurse turned and left the room.

"I'm definitely not putting her down now," Eric said. "She's my only protection."

The door opened again and Bristow trotted in ahead of Sloane. Bristow eyes were wide and curious. "Where's the baby?"

"Right here," Eric answered, sitting down in a chair so Bristow could see.

Bristow stared. "She's little."

"All babies are at first," Eric responded.

Sloane made his way over to the bed first.

"Hi, Dad."

He kissed his daughter's forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"Good, just tired," Nadia responded.

"Your call was abrupt," he said, gently.

"I'm sorry. I was having contractions and there was just so much happening at once."

Sloane gave her a debating look and moved around the bed towards Eric. "May I?" he requested.

Eric stood up. "Uh, I think she's rather content, right here, right now."

Sloane gave his son-in-law a scrutinizing frown.

"I want to hold the baby too," Bristow announced.

"Not right now, Bris," Eric answered.

The little girl sighed.

"If it helps, he won't let me hold her right now, either," Nadia pointed out.

Sloane's brow furrowed and he glared at Eric.

Eric stepped back slowly. "Nadia needs to rest," he replied, defensively. "And I thought, holding our daughter right now is the least I can do considering she just went through labor."

Sloane's expression actually softened and he placed a hand to the top of the baby's capped head. "She's beautiful, like her mother." He turned back to Nadia. "Is there anything you need?"

Nadia smiled. "I'm fine, Dad. Thank you. I know it's getting late. You should go home."

"I'll be back in the morning," Sloane assured her as he headed for the door.

Eric focused in on his daughter's dark brown eyes again. "I can't believe how alert she is. She's just taking it all in. I wonder what she must think of all of this."

"She's probably wondering why Daddy's so overprotective," Nadia responded.

"When your daughter's less than hour old, I don't believe there is such a thing as overprotective."

Nadia's attention drifted to Bristow. "How are you doing? I'm sorry we made you leave earlier."

"I'm okay," Bristow answered. "I made you a picture." She held it up a piece of paper towards her aunt. "It's you and me, and the baby."

"Hey, where am I in this picture?" Eric questioned, feigning indignance.

"Oops," Bristow answered.

"Oops indeed," Eric replied.

Nadia handed the picture back to Bristow. "You better add him quick."

Bristow nodded taking her paper as the door opened again. "Mommy?" the girl said, quietly.

"Sydney, when did you get back?" Nadia asked, propping herself up some.

"A couple hours ago, I've been looking for you. Jillian told me she'd left you Bristow and then when you weren't at home and I couldn't get either of you on your cell phones, I realized you must be here. Is everything okay?"

"Very okay," Weiss answered, proudly, tilting his arm up some to show off his daughter. "Eva Gabrielle, meet your Aunt Sydney."

Sydney smiled briefly in his direction and turned back to Nadia. "I'm sorry. I thought Jillian would have known better than to try and leave Bristow with you."

"I told her it was alright," Nadia answered. "Of course I didn't know I was going to be here today, but she's been fine."

Sydney looked unconvinced. "Get your stuff together, Bristow."

Bristow quickly finished the adding to her picture and handed it back to Nadia, but she turned to her mother sadly. "But I want to stay with T_ia_ and the baby."

"Now, Bristow," Sydney replied.

Bristow blinked and moved reluctantly to take her bag.

"Congratulations," Sydney told Eric and Nadia. "I know you're probably both tired so I'll try and visit longer when you're home."

"Thank you," Nadia answered, quietly.

Bristow sniffled and moved to give her aunt a hug.

"You can come see us again soon," Nadia whispered.

Bristow nodded and stepped back. She turned towards Eric but Sydney took her daughter by the hand. "Let's go." Sydney briskly walked out the door with a firm hand on her daughter.

"But I wanted to say goodbye to the baby!" Bristow cried.

"Stop it, right now, Bristow," Sydney snapped, a firm yank on her daughter's arm. "You are not going to get loud in this hospital. There are lots of mommies and babies trying to rest."

Nadia watched them go and frowned deeply.

"You okay?" Eric questioned.

Nadia held out her arms. "Let me hold her, please. I should try feeding her again."

Eric handed the child over immediately. "Alright, but you didn't answer my question."

Nadia cuddled the baby close. "Just don't let me _ever_ talk to our daughter like that."

Eric nodded. "Deal." He leaned close. "Though I have no idea how I'll ever have the heart to tell her she can't do or have something. I mean, look at that face. How can you say no to that?"

The baby's face crumpled; her tiny hand fisting.

"Aw, I think she's definitely ready to try eating again," Nadia decided.

"See, Eva. You are going to have _the_ life. Eat whenever you want, sleep whenever you want. And two people to wait on you hand and foot the second you make a sound. Life's going to be good, baby girl."


	16. Chapter 16

**SIXTEEN**

The very beginnings of a wail reached Nadia's ears and her eyes opened immediately. It was the soft sound of week-old lungs that hadn't quite learned to cry. Nadia was starting to suspect that the baby may never get the hang of it considering they always answered her earliest whimpers.

Nadia sat up in the bed, but she didn't even get the chance to pull the covers back before her husband was putting the baby in her arms. She smiled at him as she took the baby to nurse her.

"She's been up awhile, but yeah, rocking her wasn't keeping her content anymore." He sat down on the bed.

Nadia looked at the clock and frowned. "You aren't dressed. You're going to be late your first day back."

"I should take off another week, don't you think?"

Nadia seriously debated. "I will miss having you here, I can't say I won't."

"See, see. I'll call them right now and saying never mind, another week."

"But I think I'll manage."

Eric sighed. "I'm going to be lost at work without her."

"Yes, with the way you carried her around the house all week, I don't know how you're ever going to adjust to being able to use two hands at once."

"I should just bring her with me. I'm sure your father would love that."

"Would you finally let him hold her?"

"No," Eric answered, immediately.

"Then, I don't think he'll be quite so happy. I was the one getting funny looks the three times he came by this week and you held onto her as if your life depended on it."

"Hey, for all I know, it did. I just wasn't taking any chances."

"I'm thinking we might get out of the house today. Run some errands."

"Errands? What errands? I'll run the errands," Eric protested.

"It's perfectly safe for me to take her out, you know."

He shook his head. "No, no, it's not." He stood up. "There's other cars, germs and…and wind!"

"Wind?"

"Cold, drafty wind."

Nadia laughed and Eva fussed. "Stop, you're distracting us. Go get dressed."

"Fine. But you should seriously think about the dangers of taking her out."

"We can't just keep her indoors for the rest of her life, Eric." Nadia shifted. "And I'm rather looking forward to showing her off."

"Showing her off? What if some crazed lunatic sees how cute she is and wants to take her?"

Nadia frowned at him. "Don't even say that."

"I'm sorry, but these are the thoughts I get lying awake at night. I'm a father now; I have to think of everything."

Nadia nodded. "Good, then think about all the clothes and shoes and food and diapers we're going to need for her and how we're going to pay for them if you stay home all the time."

"How about we switch and you go to work?" he asked.

"You won't like that idea so much when she gets hungry," Nadia responded. "After all, we agreed, no bottles. And I'd never get to hold her if we changed that."

He sighed. "Alright, I'm getting ready. But I'm calling you the second I get there, and when I go on break, and at lunch, and before I come home and I'm coming straight back. And if anything happens while I'm gone, you have to call me."

Nadia lifted their daughter and held her against her shoulder, rubbing the baby's back gently to burp her. "I don't know what you think is going to happen." She manueved herself out from under the covers and got up from the bed. "Except that I think we'll both miss you a lot."

Eric smiled and kissed her lips and the baby's forehead. Then, he finally went into the bathroom and started a shower. He was already late by the time he did finally get out the door.

Nadia set the baby up in a bouncy seat in the bathroom while she took her own shower and got dressed. Then, she lifted Eva. "Now, I think it's time we got you dressed for an outing."

The phone rang. Nadia looked at her daughter. "Just as soon as we tell Daddy how fine we are." She placed the reciever to her ear. "The most exciting thing that's about to happen right now is I'm going to change a diaper. Now, get to work."

"Nadia!"

"I'll talk to you later, Eric." She pressed the button on the phone and turned towards the nursery.

The only thing they had truly used the nursery for thus far was for changing clothes and diapers. She didn't like to have the baby out of sight for any period of time yet and it eased nightly feedings to keep Eva in the master bedroom with them.

She walked into nursery and put Eva down on the changing table. The baby fussed immediately, protesting not being held. Her mouth opened wide, exposing toothless gums and a cute pink tongue. Nadia was torn between the way it stung to hear her daughter cry and being unable to get past that anything the baby did was adorable.

"It's okay. It's okay. I'm doing this as fast I can." Nadia discarded the dirty diaper, wiped her daughter clean and began fastening on the new.

She picked up the infant to finish fastening the snaps. "See, all done," she soothed.

Eva's wails died down to nothing and she blinked, contented.

"Congratulations."

The word was whispered but Nadia still jumped and turned to face the corner of the room it had come from. She swallowed. "Mom."

Irina emerged from the corner of the room.

"How long have you been in here?" Nadia questioned.

"Not long," her mother responded cryptically, her eyes fixing on the baby. "How are you?"

"I'm good." Nadia smiled. "We're good." She tilted the baby up her arms for her mother to see. "Mom, this is Eva."

A soft smile came onto her mother's lips and she nodded approvingly. "She's beautiful."

Nadia stepped forward. "Do you want to hold her?"

Irina took the infant into her arms. Eva yawned, twisting and stretching her tiny limbs.

Nadia committed the moment to memory, wanting to be able to picture her daughter and her mother together as clearly as she would look at a photograph.

"Thank you," Nadia said. "For the crib."

"You haven't used it yet," Irina noted.

Nadia shook her head. "Not yet. We can't really bear to put her down for very long. But we love the crib. We will use it."

Irina nodded.

"I never was able to thank you for the necklace you gave me for my wedding. It was nice to know you were there."

Her mother smiled. "You seemed very happy."

"I was, I am. Eric's wonderful, especially with Eva. He's so attentive and protective. I wish you could see it." Nadia sighed, momentarily.

Irina's eyes were settled on Eva's face, studying the baby.

"Have you seen Bristow? She's gotten so big." Nadia turned took a framed picture off the dresser and held it up for her mother to see. "She's so shy and quiet, but she's such a good girl."

Irina admired the picture. "You still see her often?"

"Not as often as I'd like right now. After I got pregnant, Sydney hired a nanny. It's limited my time with her." Nadia turned and placed the picture back on the dresser. "Are you still in contact with Sydney?"

"I've had little information to aid her search in recent months. Our contact is intermittent."

Nadia frowned.

Irina raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"I wish sometimes that Sydney would give up on the search, or at least slow down. She runs herself to frustration and exhaustion. She doesn't have any time or energy left for anything or anyone else."

The baby fussed, discontent and Irina moved forward to return the baby to Nadia's arms. "I do not believe your sister has ever given up on anything."

Nadia soothed her daughter, rocking her gently in her arms and Eva's eyes drooped. "I don't understand how she can stand to be away from home, from her daughter, as much as she is. I had to get out of that life."

Irina's face formed an unreadable smile. "I have often wanted you both out of espionage. But I know the relationship Sydney had with Vaughn, the attachment, the important role he played in her life. I cannot fault for her wanting justice, resolution or even vengeance."

Nadia snuggled her sleeping daughter, but blinked, unsure. "At any cost?"

Her mother gave a reassuring look. "Your sister knows how to take care of herself." Irina's hands gently touched Nadia's arm and the top of the baby's head. "You take care of your beautiful daughter."

Nadia swallowed as her mother gently squeezed her arm. "You have to go," she realized quietly.

Irina blinked slowly and nodded once. "It's been more and more difficult for me to slip in and out of the country. It may be awhile before I can visit you again. But I will be in contact."

Nadia blinked hard. "Be safe," she whispered.

"You too," her mother responded, her eyes glistening as well.

Irina walked out of the nursery closing the door behind her, soundlessly.

Nadia sniffled and turned her attention back to Eva, listening to the baby breathe. Nadia backed into the corner and sat down in the rocking chair. She could help the streams of tears that ran down her face when she blinked.

Every short visit always reminded her how desperately she wanted more time with her mother. All the questions she wished she could ask, especially now that she was a mother as well. And still she wished she pushed a little more about Sydney, but it always seemed especially wrong to say anything against Sydney to their mother. Nadia couldn't help but wonder if Irina had a stronger attachment to her older daughter. The one she'd been able to raise for six years and had had much contact with for the past few years. Nadia doubted Irina wanted to hear her complain about Sydney during each of her rare visits.

The sound of a door opening beyond the nursery made Nadia wipe her tears and get up from her chair. She opened the nursery door a crack to see her husband closing the front door.

"Eric?"

Eric turned and looked at her guiltily. "Nadia, I'm sorry. I couldn't focus on a single thing at work. They really practically told me come home."

She started across the room, staring at him.

"Everyone. Including your father. I swear. You can call them and ask." He grimaced, uncomfortably. "You're mad, aren't you? You think I don't trust you. Nadia, I'm sorry--"

She stopped in front of him and wrapped her free arm around him.

He relaxed, surprised and looked her in the eye. "Have you been crying? Did something happen?" He took their daughter from her arms. "Is she okay?"

Nadia nodded. "We're okay. I just missed you."

He put his arm around her. "Well, I'm home for the week," he said with a careful grin.

"Good," she responded, softly.

Eric raised an eyebrow. "Okay, now I _know_ something happened. Was Sydney here?"

Nadia shook her head. "No, she wasn't here and I haven't talked to her."

"Then, what's going on?"

Nadia looked thoughtfully at the baby. "I was just thinking about my mother."

Eric glanced from Eva to her and then kissed her gently. "You want to talk about it?"

She shook her head. "I think I might just lay down for a little while. You can wake me when she wakes up."

He gave her a debating look. "Alright. Sleep well." He settled into a chair in the living room. "I'll just be in here spoiling our daughter rotten."

She smiled at him and went into the bedroom. She curled up in the bed on top of all the covers, her face puckered and she started to cry as quietly as she could. She twisted her hands in the pillows but the sobs kept coming. She couldn't stop them even when the door opened and Eric entered the room.

"Hey, hey, now you have to talk to me," he said, putting his arms around her.

She looked at him, almost alarmed. "Where's Eva?"

He gestured to the baby monitor on the nightstand. "She's in her crib. I realized it might not kill me to let her try it for a few minutes. Now, what's going on?"

Nadia hesitated. "My mother...was here."

Eric stiffened a little. "Here, here. In our apartment? She broke in?"

"I don't know how she got in. I just know that I saw her. In the nursery," she said gently.

"What did she want? Did she do something to you? She upset you?"

"She didn't do anything wrong, Eric. I even let her hold Eva."

He frowned. "You let Irina Derevko hold my baby?"

"Our baby. _Her_ granddaughter." Nadia sniffled. "She congratulated me and she thinks Eva is so beautiful."

"If she didn't do anything wrong, then why are you so upset?"

"I just miss her so much. I've had so little time with her, so much less than Sydney. I always want more. More of a chance to talk to her, ask her for advice, I don't know. She's been in contact with Sydney these past few years, helping her with her investigation into who killed Vaughn. There's this way she talks about Sydney that's so proud. I think she's more attached to Sydney. I think she...probably loves her more."

"Nadia, I'm sure your mother loves you too. As much as I hate it, she snuck into a country that wants to imprison her for life or execute her _just_ to come see you and our baby. Though I'm sure no one loves you as much as I do, _you_ are going to make her proud of what a fantastic person and mother you are."

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you, at first," Nadia said, quietly.

"Well, knowing that the first time I left the house after our baby was born, a wanted terrorist dropped by does make me a little insecure. At least I could delude myself before that she probably didn't drop off the necklace or the crib in person."

"She wouldn't ever hurt her, Eric. Or me. I know that."

"But I just don't want you to ever feel like you have hide your mother from me. I mean, if I can deal with having Arvin Sloane as a father-in-law, I can deal with this." He nodded. "I can," he said, obviously to convince her as well as himself.

She gave him a debating look. "I just didn't want you to worry."

He sighed. "I worry when you won't talk to me."

She nodded.

"So, you still need a nap?"

"Maybe a short one," she responded. "But I haven't even eaten anything today."

"Alright, you rest while I'll fix us a late lunch."

Nadia lay back on the bed.

He got up, reached over and grabbed the baby monitor. "Rest," he said, gently. He headed off to the kitchen.

She let out a sigh and curled up in the bed.

* * *

Eric put down the phone and poked his head into the nursery. "Is she up?"

"Just waking," Nadia responding, lifting the baby into her arms. She cuddled the baby against her shoulder. "Who was on the phone?"

"Sydney," he answered, carefully.

Nadia raised an eyebrow. "What does she want?" They hadn't seen Sydney in the almost two weeks since Eva had been born.

"She wants to bring Bristow by to see her," Eric responded. "I told her it was fine with me. I thought I'd check and see if you were up to it." He could see her silently debate. "If you're not, just say so."

Nadia looked at Eva. "Hmm, are you up to company?" she asked the baby. Nadia smiled. "I'm sure Bristow can't wait to see her again. It's fine."

Eric nodded and put his face close to his daughter's. "Good morning, baby girl. I mean, it's afternoon, but I don't think you really care considering how awake you are all night anyway." He reached for Eva.

Nadia shook her head at him. "You had her all morning. Go finish on the phone," she laughed.

Eric made a mock-surprised face and turned to his daughter. "Mommy needs to learn to share."

"No, Eva. _Daddy_ needs to learn to share," she corrected.

The baby began the opening cough of a wail.

"Oh I don't think she likes that idea much," Eric answered.

"She's probably just hungry. Eric, the phone."

"I'm going. I'm going."

It was a little less than a half hour before there was a knock at the door.

Nadia sat on the couch. She sat Eva up her lap, patting the baby's back to burp her.

Eric opened the door. "Hey, come on in."

"Hi, Uncle Eric!" Bristow greeted cheerily.

"We won't stay too long," Sydney said, as she came in.

"Tia!" Bristow abandoned her coat and shoes and ran over to the couch, stopping just a foot away and staring at the baby.

Nadia smiled to her daughter. "Look Eva, it's your cousin."

"Hi, Eva," Bristow said, softly but cheerily.

"How're you two adjusting?" Sydney asked Eric.

"There was no adjusting to her," Eric responded. "Adjusting to no sleep on the other hand..."

Sydney smiled. "This is for you, or her really." She held out a wrapped package to her brother-in-law.

Nadia's eyebrows raised. "You got us something?"

Eric and Sydney came over and sat in the chairs across from the couch as he started to unwrap it.

"Can I hold the baby?" Bristow asked.

"No, Bristow," Sydney answered, immediately.

"Sydney, it's alright," Nadia responded. "Bristow, sit up here next to me okay." She moved Eva carefully into her niece's lap. "Now see she can't hold her head by herself yet, so we have to hold it for her."

Bristow grinned as Nadia kept one hand under Eva's head just in case.

"What do you think?" Nadia asked.

"She's heavy," Bristow answered.

"Yeah, heavier than she looks, I know."

Eric finished pulling off the wrapping paper and unfolded a soft lavender baby blanket.

"It's beautiful," Nadia admired.

Sydney looked to her sister. "I hope it matches the nursery. I know you probably already have a couple of blankets, but I remember how messy they get, you can always use more."

"Thank you," Eric said.

"It does match," Nadia responded. "You remembered her colors."

"You thought I wouldn't?" Sydney asked, with a raised eyebrow.

Nadia reached for the blanket and felt how soft it was. It wasn't so much that she hadn't thought Sydney would remember as she'd thought her sister wouldn't care. "Thank you," Nadia said.

"I brought something for the baby, too," Bristow said, quietly.

"Here." Sydney got up and took Eva from her daughter's arms. "Go grab it."

Nadia stood, involuntarily, a wary eye on her sister with the baby.

Sydney smiled and sat back down. It was the calmest expression Nadia had ever seen Sydney wear while holding a baby. Nadia watched with near amazement as Sydney snuggled Eva to her and gave the baby warm smiles and whispers of adoration.

Bristow returned with a smaller wrapped package from her coat pocket. "Here, _tia_."

Nadia hugged Bristow. "Thank you." She unwrapped it, to reveal a small, soft, lavender rabbit with floppy ears. Nadia gave her niece a kiss. "She's going to love playing with this when she's big enough."

Sydney glanced up. "She's amazing, Nadia. I don't remember Bristow being this alert at two weeks."

"I remember," Nadia answered, keeping an arm around her niece. "I remember a lot about what you were like. You were a little smaller than Eva, but you could cry so much louder."

"And your aunt spoiled you like crazy," Sydney said. "Perhaps I'll have to return the favor."

Nadia forced a laugh, uncomfortably, still fighting the urge to ask for her baby back. "I think Eric's already got the spoiling of her covered."

"This kid is going to be walking all over both of you," Sydney answered, her eyes immediately returning to Eva as the infant squirmed and stretched.

Nadia watched her daughter. "Is she getting fussy?"

"She's just yawning."

Nadia took a step towards Sydney. "Oh, I should try and rock her. She might still be tired."

"She slept forever," Eric noted. "This is why she doesn't sleep at night." He pulled Bristow into his lap and started to tickle her.

"She needs the rest, she's growing," Nadia reminded. "Here, I can take her, Syd."

Sydney shrugged. "I can try and rock her."

Nadia reached towards her baby, slowly. "It's okay. She also might still be hungry."

"I think she'd definitely let us know if she was hungry," Sydney replied.

"She really doesn't cry much yet. Can I please have her back now?"

"We have that tug of war all day," Eric told Sydney with a wink. "Nadia told me I have to learn to share. I still say it's the other way around."

Sydney laughed. "Do you not share, Nadia?"

"Sydney, give her to me now!" Nadia snapped.

Sydney stopped laughing and put the baby in her sister's arms. Nadia hugged Eva to her and walked away from the group towards the nursery. Eric lifted Bristow off his lap and stood concerned.

"Nadia?" Eric asked, carefully.

Sydney sighed. "It's probably hormones mixed with new mom jitters. I really said we weren't going to stay long. Get your stuff, Bristow."

Bristow frowned but moved to put her coat on immediately.

"I'll call later. Tell her I said bye." Sydney gave Eric a hug, then grabbed her own coat and her daughter's hand and they found their own way out.

Eric walked into the nursery carefully. Nadia sat in the rocking chair, cheek to cheek with the baby, rocking. "Nadia?" he asked softly.

She lifted her glassy eyes to his slowly.

"Hey, hey, what is it?" he asked.

"She wouldn't give her back," Nadia whispered. "She wouldn't give her back."

Eric smiled slightly. "I really don't think Sydney wants our baby. And even if she did, she'd be giving her back to us tomorrow so that she could fly around the world."

"Did you see the way she held her, Eric?" Nadia questioned. "Did you see?"

"The way she laughed and smiled and cuddled her like she loved her to pieces? That's what I saw," Eric responded.

Nadia shut her eyes, resting her chin on top of Eva's head. "I have never seen Sydney like that. She was never like that with Bristow."

Eric touched his wife's arm. "Eva's not Bristow, Nadia. And it's been three years. It's probably easier for her to deal with a baby now than it was for her then. I think we should be happy about that. She's happy for us."

"It didn't feel right, watching her. I know it sounds crazy, but it just didn't feel right," Nadia replied. She turned her head so she could look at Eva's sleeping form against her chest. She kissed top of her baby's head.

"Didn't feel right..." He trailed off with a concerned frown. "Are you okay?"

Nadia nodded. "I'm better now. Was Sydney upset?"

"No, she just thought you were hormonal."

Nadia smiled. "Maybe I am. I know I was the one accusing you of being overprotective. Maybe it's just my turn." She sighed. "I just love her so much already. I don't know how to handle it." Nadia touched her baby's hand. "You realize she's never had a paper cut or a broken nail or a broken anything."

"And she won't ever if I can help it," Eric answered.

Nadia brought he baby down from her shoulder carefully and lowered her into Eric's arms. "Thank you."

He smiled. "No thank you," he answered. "You definitely did most of the work. And as perfect as she is, you know it's okay, if she's the only one."

Nadia laughed. "Really? I was just thinking as perfect as she is a half dozen might be okay after all."

Eric grinned.


	17. Chapter 17

**

* * *

**

SEVENTEEN

"Oh now _she's_ precious. How old?" the cashier questioned, pausing in her ringing up of the groceries to stare at the baby in a carrier balanced in the cart.

"Three months," Nadia responded, with a proud smile.

The cashier resumed ringing up. "What's her name?"

"Eva," Nadia filled in, lightly touching her daughter's dark head of hair and then down the flowered yellow romper the baby wore.

"Hello, Eva. I bet all these diapers are for you," the cashier said with a laugh.

Eva opened her mouth in a wide grin, sticking out her tongue, obviously happy to be talked to. She kicked feet with white ruffled socks and white baby shoes on them.

The cashier finished scanning items and announced a total. Nadia paid as her cart was loaded. Nadia pushed the cart out the door. "All done shopping, baby girl. Now we just have to pay a bill and then we can go home. Though I think I need a snack first."

Eva looked at her with big eyes and stuck out her tongue.

Nadia lightly tickled the baby's belly with two fingers. "Heh, you could go for a snack too, I'm sure."

Eva gripped her mother's finger, trying to bring it to her mouth.

Nadia opened up the trunk and lifted groceries from the cart inside before slamming it shut. Eva watched her curiously. She wheeled the baby and the cart to the side of the building to return it.

"Almost snack time, baby girl." She lifted the carrier out of the cart.

"Nadia Santos?"

Nadia turned her head to follow the voice but immediately felt a needle prick in her arm. She reached out and gripped a hand but couldn't turn to see her attacker. She felt her knees weakening beneath her and a grip on the baby carrier besides her own.

"No!"

Then, she saw the pavement coming towards her quickly.

* * *

Her baby was crying.

Her head pounded, reverberated with the sound and the cries made her want to cry too. She tried to speak, but her mouth was dry. She forced her eyes opened. She was staring up at a high metal ceiling. She felt around her enough to realize she was lying on a cot in a cement room. Everything else was blurry.

She turned her head. On the floor beside the cot sat the baby carrier with Eva securely strapped into it. Nadia sat up. Where was she? Who had her? She tried to stand up and rainbows danced over her eyes and she sank back down, fearing she'd pass out otherwise.

Nadia worked the straps off and pulled Eva into her lap. She quickly cuddled her baby closer, wrapping her arms around her daughter protectively. She tried to focus enough to see if Eva had any injuries but she thankfully didn't see any marks on her.

Eva squirmed, very upset. Nadia stroked a finger to her daughter's cheek, whispering a mixture of soothing words, apologies for letting this happen to them and promises to get them out of there in the infant's ear.

Nadia closed one eye and held her arm up to her to see her watch. At least three hours had passed. Eva was probably starving. Nadia eyed the room and blurrily made out the outline of a door that could open at any moment. But she had no idea how long she might be stuck there and she wasn't going to let her baby go hungry. No escape plan was going to work if Eva's screaming alerted whomever to where they went. She moved to the far edge of the cot and began to nurse the baby.

Eva quieted, eating heartily. Nadia rocked her daughter gently as she tried to assess the room. Who had her? Why had they been taken? What did they want? Being unharmed for the moment was of little consolation to her. Someone had kidnapped her and her baby. She'd kill them with her bare hands if she had to.

And Eric, Eric must be worried sick about them.

Nadia hoped she'd be left alone long enough for her vision to return to normal. She planted kisses on her daughters hand and whispered to the baby assurances of how much she loved her. Eva fell asleep nursing. She maneuvered the baby out from under her shirt but she didn't put her down. She got up from the bed slowly.

The door opened abruptly. Nadia took a step back, trying to get further away from it. A woman walked in, briskly. Nadia watched but with her kaleidoscopic vision, she only managed to tell the woman had dark hair and almost nothing else about her.

"Who are you?" Nadia demanded, through clenched teeth. "What do you want?"

"You're very good with your daughter," the woman noted, with a voice accented in French. "I'm sorry I frightened you. You won't be harmed. I just had things I needed confirmed."

"Confirmed?" Nadia questioned.

"I'd like to talk to you about Sydney," the woman explained.

"What do you know about Sydney?" Nadia questioned. Was this some kind of revenge against her?

The woman walked back to the door.

"Wait!" Nadia ordered.

The woman opened the door.

In a moment, Bristow came dashing in, happily. "_Tia_!"

Nadia bent down fearfully, wrapping a protective arm around her niece. "Bristow, what happened? Are you okay?" What was she doing here? Sydney had taken Bristow with her on some kind of vacation Sydney had claimed. They'd been gone for almost a week.

"I'm okay," Bristow answered, then she looked a little sad. "Mommy left me with her and she didn't come back."

Nadia looked up at the French woman again. "What is she talking about?" she asked, skeptically.

"Sydney and Bristow were staying with me as Sydney coordinated an operation. It should have been an overnight, but she's disappeared. I haven't heard from her in three days. I intend to go after her, but I needed to know I was leaving Bristow someplace safe."

Nadia frowned. "And you kidnapped me because...?"

"Sydney told me that you were the person to take her daughter to if anything should ever happen to her. I needed to confirm your identity and I wanted to see you for myself. I was not going to take risks with Sydney's daughter."

"Who are you?" Nadia inquired. "How do you know Sydney?"

"Sydney found me after the death of Michael Vaughn. Together, we have been hunting the people responsible."

"But you're not CIA...are you?"

"No," the woman answered. "I'm best known as The Raven."

Nadia shook her head, the name meaning nothing to her. Her vision was finally starting to return and the woman's face and dark eyes weren't familiar either. "So now what?"

"Now you are free to go. I will find Sydney." The woman knelt down. "I'll see you again soon, Bristow."

Bristow turned and scampered over to her, giving the woman a hug that confirmed for Nadia that the woman must have taken good care of the little girl. Bristow wouldn't be comfortable letting just anyone give her a hug.

"Where did Sydney go? Who do you think has her?" Nadia wondered. "At least give me some information to pass along to the CIA so they can help find her."

"I will find her," The Raven said. "I don't need their help to do it." She turned and left the room, leaving the door wide open.

Nadia stood there a moment, then reluctantly knelt down to Bristow's height again. Her eyes were almost back to normal and she could see her niece more clearly. "Are you really okay?"

Bristow nodded, her eyes on Eva.

Nadia kissed Bristow's cheek, then settled Eva into the carrier. She took Bristow by the hand and walked out the doorway. She followed a lineup of boxes and loud machinary and found her car parked in an alley outside. She settled Bristow and Eva in the backseat and drove home.

She wasn't even out of the car before the door burst open and Eric came running out. "Nadia, where have you been? I've been calling everywhere and everyone."

She just wrapped her arms around him tightly.

He embraced her. "Are you okay? Is the baby okay?"

Just being wrapped in his arms she felt the intensity of everything that had happened flooding from her. She started to sob into his chest.

"Nadia, talk to me, please," he tried. He stepped back only a bit as the back car door opened. "Bristow?" he asked, confused.

"Something's happened," Nadia whimpered. "To Sydney."

Eric swallowed. "Let's get inside." He moved to get Eva from the backseat and they all went into the apartment.

Nadia sat down on her own familiar couch and Eric put the baby carrier in front of her. She immediately took her daughter back into her arms. Eric was dealing with Bristow but Nadia couldn't take her eyes of her daughter.

Finally, Eric sat down on the couch beside her. "Bristow's eating a snack. Now, please, tell me what happened."

"I was at the grocery store, I went to put the cart away and some woman called my name…I turned around, everything got dark. I woke up with Eva in a warehouse."

"Did she hurt you?!" Eric demanded, obviously unsettled.

"No, she said she just had to be sure of who I was and then she gave me Bristow and said Sydney had left Bristow with her but hadn't come back from an operation."

"Sydney didn't have any operations this week—'

"I know. I think it must have been some rogue thing she's been doing to try and figure out who killed Vaughn. Apparently, she's been working with this woman."

"What woman?"

"A French woman. I didn't get a very good look at her but she said her name was 'The Raven'."

Eric sucked in air, harshly. "You're sure?"

"Yes, why?" Nadia asked.

"She's an assassin, Nadia."

Nadia hugged her daughter closer as what could have happened pounded into her. If that person hadn't been some friend of Sydney's but had been an enemy, been there to hurt her or Eva…

She leaned into him. "I'm sorry, Eric. I let us get captured. I should have been more aware, I should have been more careful!"

He put a hand to her arm. "Nadia, you didn't let it happen on purpose."

Nadia got up abruptly. "That doesn't matter. I let my guard down. I've been so relaxed into this new life of ours that I'm forgetting everything I knew how to do. And Eva was there…Eva was right with me, and I'm supposed to protect her, take care of her. I'm supposed to…" She broke into sobs.

She squeezed her daughter to her and Eva began to fuss in her arms. She cried against her baby's cheek as Eric embraced them both.

"We still don't know what happened to Sydney," she whimpered.

"I'll make some calls. Why don't you just take Eva and get some rest?"

"But Bristow?"

"I'll make sure she's okay."

She nodded and headed into the bedroom.

* * *

She heard voices as she drifted back towards consciousness.

"Was she harmed?"

"She says she wasn't. Eva wasn't."

"I'd to see her."

"She's resting right now."

"I need to see that my daughter is all right."

Nadia sat up in the bed. Eva was awake beside her but she wasn't fussing. She was kicking her legs happily and when she realized she had an audience, she let out a cooing gurgle and blew bubbles for her mother.

The door pushed open a moment later.

"Nadia, I made some calls, some to APO and now your father's here."

"And he wants to see me, I heard," she said.

"I'm sorry we woke you," Eric apologized.

"She's up anyway." Nadia picked up the baby.

"Want me to take her?" Eric questioned.

Nadia hugged her daughter to her. "No, I've got her. Where's Bristow?"

Eric watched her carefully. "She fell asleep not long after you did. I think she's still out. If you're not up to seeing your father, right now, I can--"

"It's fine, Eric. Once he sees I'm okay, I'm sure he won't stay long." Nadia brushed a few strands of hair from her face, passing the mirror, realizing how tired she still looked even though she'd slept over an hour.

She peeked out in the living room. Sloane was admiring a baby picture of Eva framed on one of the coffee tables. "Nadia," he greeted with immediate concern.

Nadia tried to put on a brave smile. "Hi, Dad." She shifted Eva to one shoulder so he could offer a hug and slight kiss of her cheek.

They moved to sit down on the couch.

"Are you well?"

"I'm sure Eric told you that nothing happened."

"Being snatched from a parking lot in broad daylight by a wanted assassin is not nothing, Nadia," Sloane corrected, sharply.

Nadia shuddered slightly, just to hear him say it. Eva made a plaintive fuss and Nadia cuddled the baby against her. The rest of her father's words were lost in a complete haze of rising panic. She could feel her heart pounding out of her as the moment set in her mind on replay. The cold way the other woman had said her name. The needle. The pavement rushing towards her.

"Nadia?"

She jerked at the touch on her shoulder before she realized it was her husband.

The baby started to cry at the sudden movement.

Nadia got up and backed away from both Eric and her father. "She's hungry. I should—" She looked at her father. "Thank you for dropping by."

"We're going to find, Sydney," Sloane assured her.

She nodded and didn't even wait for him to head for the door before she went into the nursery, plopped down in the rocking chair and started trying to feed her daughter. Even then she still felt herself shuddering as she recalled how completely wrong and different it had felt nursing her baby in that locked room. How completely helpless and vulnerable she'd been the entire time.

She placed her drowsy daughter in the crib when she finished and sat back in the rocking chair, rocking herself.

"Tia?"

She turned to the doorway and her niece scampered up.

She reached down and pulled Bristow into her arms.

"Tia, are you sad?"

Nadia nodded.

"Why?"

Nadia rocked the little girl in the chair. "Today was hard, Bristow. I was worried, about Eva and you, and your mom."

"My mom will be back," Bristow said, with a nod. "She leaves me all the time, and she always comes back."

"I know. I just wish she wouldn't leave you so much, Bris." Nadia smoothed her niece's hair. "Do you miss her when she's gone?"

Bristow looked down. "When she leaves, I get to see you."

Nadia felt the small child's arms wrap around her neck so tightly. "We should get some dinner, don't you think?"

Bristow nodded.

"Will you help me make it?"

"Yes."

She put the little girl down and took Eva who had realized she'd been put down and woken back up again. The three left the nursery.

Eric came back into the house from outside.

"Did my father just leave?"

Eric nodded. "He had some concerns to share."

"Bristow and I are going to start dinner."

"I can make dinner, Nadia. Or we can order in. You're tired."

"I just need to do something other than sit still right now, Eric. Please." She offered him Eva.

Eric nodded and took the baby. "Okay. So, what are we having?"

* * *

"Boo!"

There was a beautiful eruption of baby giggles. The type baby dolls were made to mimic.

"Boo!" Bristow said again, leaning forward over her tiny cousin.

Again Eva's legs kicked happily in the bouncy and she burst into giggles again.

Nadia watched from the doorway of the kitchen at how sweetly her niece was entertaining her daughter. Eric was at the office. It had been four days with no word from "The Raven" and few leads on Sydney.

Bristow was handling it well. She was her usual quiet, helpful self, doing anything she could to help out with baby especially.

Nadia had only left for a moment to slice an apple for Bristow to eat while they watched a movie in the evening before bed. She came forward and set the plate of apple slices on the coffee table.

"Will Uncle Eric be home soon?" Bristow asked as she moved away from the bouncy to grab an apple.

Eric had barely been home. He had even spent the entire night at the office once. He'd called in the morning to reassure her he was all right. She'd been impressed at how much time he was spending working on this with both Jack Bristow and her father and he hadn't complained once. She wasn't sure if her father and Eric were finally getting along or he just wasn't mentioning it if they weren't. He'd been quiet in general. She knew she hounded him, wanting to know the details of every lead they had.

"I hope so, Bris. It's getting late." Nadia moved the bouncy just in front of her. Eva was still offering smiles and noisy coos in Bristow's directions, hoping to entice her cousin back to entertaining her. "Hey, remember me?" she asked her daughter.

Eva immediately smiled at her and Nadia unstrapped her from the bouncy and pulled the baby into her lap. "You are going to be one outgoing little girl," she told her daughter. Nadia cuddled the baby closer and noticed Bristow with an apple slice untouched in her hand watching them both.

Nadia looked at her niece. "Aren't you going to hop up here and join us? We need to start this movie."

Bristow went to put her apple slice down. "Okay."

"You can eat that," Nadia said.

"Not on the furniture," Bristow said.

"I promise, a little apple will not hurt this couch. You have not seen the things your Uncle Eric eats on it, and the things I have found in these cushions. Now, come on." Nadia patted the couch.

Bristow hopped up beside her with an apple slice in hand and cuddled up next to her.

Nadia started the movie.

"Do you want apple too?" Bristow asked a few minutes later.

Nadia nodded. "Sure, Bris."

The little girl hopped down and grabbed two pieces. "What about Eva?"

"Oh, as much as I know Eva would love to grab onto a piece, she's too little for apples."

"Why?" Bristow asked.

"Well, because she doesn't have any teeth yet. She can't chew them."

Bristow giggled. "When will she get teeth?"

Nadia turned the baby towards her. "Oh not for a couple more months. But that's okay, cause she certainly gets plenty to eat. Don't you, baby girl?"

Eva cooed at her.

"Is Eva's food good?" Bristow questioned.

Nadia smiled, slightly at how much more talkative her niece had become after four straight days with them. "Well, she seems to like it," Nadia answered.

Bristow sat back and ate her apple slice.

Nadia put an arm around her niece. It wasn't long before Nadia realized she was the only one watching the movie. Bristow was asleep against her and Eva had dozed off in her arms. Nadia maneuvered carefully to place a pillow under Bristow's head and covered her with a blanket off the back of the couch. Then, Nadia lay Eva down in her crib in the nursery. She headed back into the living room to turn off the movie.

There suddenly came a banging on the front door. Nadia headed up the steps and peeked out the peephole. She gasped at the sight of the dark haired assassin. Nadia stiffened. "What do you want?" she called through the door.

"Your sister needs your help," the woman responded, urgently.

Nadia stepped back, undid the locks on the door and pulled it open slowly.

The assassin was nowhere to be seen, but Sydney was a sight on the ground in front of the door. Bruised, bloodied and unconscious. Nadia covered her mouth with one hand and knelt at her sister's side. "Sydney...Syd..." There were makeshift bandages on her head and arm, but they were soaking from the wounds they covered.

"Tia?" came a small voice from behind her.

Nadia turned immediately. "Bris..." She didn't want her niece to see her mother like this.

But Bristow was frozen on the stairwell with wide bulging eyes, taking it in.

Nadia turned back towards the little girl. "She's going to be okay, Bris. She's...she's going to be to be okay."


	18. Chapter 18

**EIGHTEEN**

She looked at the door hopefully when it opened.

She stood up and Eric came forward and embraced her so tightly.

"Did you get any sleep at all?" he questioned, without pulling away.

"After the ambulance and the agents in and out, I couldn't even get Bristow to sleep until after midnight. I put her in our bed. I think I got an hour and then Eva woke up wide awake." Nadia sighed and rubbed her tired face.

Eric kept his arms around her and walked her back over to the couch. "I should have stayed here."

"No, I wanted you with Sydney. After Bristow saw her, I knew I couldn't go to the hospital and just leave her. How...how she's doing?"

"She was in surgery most of the night. With the injuries she has, we're pretty certain she was held by someone all this time."

"What injuries?" Nadia questioned, softly.

Eric took a breath. "Cracked, broken ribs, dehydrated, broken fingers, toes, one of her legs is in bad shape. The first surgery was to repair a rupture in her spleen. They thought they might have to remove it at first but they didn't. The second was for some other internal bleeding. There was also a concussion and some bruises, burns. She's really been through it, Nadia, but she's out of surgery for now. They're just keeping an eye for any more internal bleeding."

Nadia nodded solemnly. "Has she said anything?"

"She's been out of it, Nadia. I think she's going to be for a few days." He hugged her close.

"She's not alone up there, is she?"

"Jack's with her. Your father wanted to follow me home to check on you but I told him you were probably resting."

Nadia snuggled into his arms but sighed. "I know Sydney and I were barely getting along, but I didn't wish this on her."

"I know you didn't."

"What are we going to tell Bristow?"

"Just that Mommy's hurt right now but she's going to get better. And that we're going to take care of everything she needs until then."

"I'll have to go over to the house and pick her up some more clothes."

"Or I can go, later," Eric assured.

Nadia buried her face, feeling tears coming again. "This shouldn't have happened."

"I know."

"It wasn't even a CIA assignment."

"I know."

"I don't know how she can continue to take risks like this. She doesn't think about how what happens to her affects Bristow."

Eric hugged her tight. "It's going to be okay, Nadia."

She broke down into sobs in his arms. She really wasn't sure it was.

0909

Nadia stepped out of the elevator and took a deep breath. She held the wall. She could barely feel her feet touching the floor as she walked down the sterile hallway. She had her purse clutched in white-knuckled fingers.

For the past three days, she'd been trying to shake the image of her bruised and bloodied sister from her mind. But they were finally calling her stable and she needed to see her. Nadia went into the room quietly.

Immediately, Jack Bristow was up from his daughter's bedside and moved to the edge of the curtain, blocking Nadia's view.

"Is she awake?" Nadia questioned.

"Yes, but she's still resting. She is not to have any visitors for very long."

Nadia nodded. "I can't stay long anyway. Eric's at home with Bristow and the baby."

Jack gave her scrutinizing look before stepping aside and leaving the room.

Sydney looked so frail in the bed. Her head was bandaged. Her face marred by scratches and bruises and there was a canular up her nose. Her chest rose and fell in pained shudders. She grimaced as her lungs expanded painful broken ribs. One leg was in a cast and elevated and there were braces on her fingers. A mess of machines and IVs were attached to her, monitoring everything.

Nadia felt pained just to look at her. She moved to sit nearby. She would have taken her sister's hand but there was tape and tubes and bandages. Painful looking rope burns circled her wrists.

"Sydney," Nadia whispered softly. "Sydney?"

Dark circles were around the eyes that fluttered open. Her entire face was so pale. She lifted her head slightly and Nadia got a look at horrible hand-shaped bruises around her sister's neck.

"Nadia?" Sydney's eyes closed again as if using her hoarse voice took too much effort.

"I just...I wanted to see you. I wanted you to know that we're all here and we want you to get better," Nadia said, softly.

Sydney swallowed with some difficulty and said nothing.

"Eric and I are taking care of Bristow. She's worried about you, Sydney. But we're doing everything we can to make sure she's okay and she's keeping busy. She's so great with Eva, Sydney. When you get out of here, you need to see the two of them together."

Sydney's eyes opened again momentarily and she blinked.

"I promised your father I wouldn't stay long. You just focus on getting better." Nadia got up. She wanted to pat her sister on the shoulder or squeeze her hand but there was no part of Sydney that seemed like it wouldn't hurt to touch.

Nadia finally got up and left the room.

Jack Bristow was right outside. "Is she still awake?"

"I think she was falling asleep. She didn't say very much," Nadia said with a sigh.

"She'll still very weak."

"I know." Nadia nodded, solemnly. "You should come by and see Bristow. She's so lost about all of this and since she can't see Sydney right now, it'd be nice if you dropped by."

"If there's time," Jack said dismissively. "Thank you for dropping by." He headed back into Sydney's room.

Nadia sat down in one of the chairs outside. It felt wrong to just run away when her sister was so ill. She knew Sydney had been through torture many times but nothing like this. Nadia rubbed her numb hands together and told herself she wasn't going to cry in an empty hallway where Jack Bristow could come and find her at any moment. She silently promised herself that if Sydney got better she was going to try and have a better relationship with her sister. Finally, she headed for the elevator.

She opened the door to Eric bouncing their screaming daughter as he walked back and forth across the living room at a rapid pace.

"_Lo siento_," she apologized, with a grimace as she took Eva from his arms. She plopped down in the chair and began nursing her daughter and glanced around the living room. "Where's Bristow?"

Eric suddenly looked around as well. "She was right here when Eva started screaming at me. Maybe she went into her room to play or for some peace and quiet."

Nadia looked up from Eva. "Can you check?"

Eric nodded and headed towards the guest bedroom.

Nadia sighed, stroking her daughter's cheek and whispering quiet apologies to her for taking so long to get home and feed her. Eric came back out of the guest room without a word and then went into their room. And then the nursery. And then back into Bristow's bedroom. And then the kitchen.

Nadia watched him, perplexed but Eva was eating so hungrily, she didn't dare get up.

Eric came to do his second pass of their bedroom.

"Eric?"

"I can't find her," he said, guiltily.

"Eric!" Nadia exclaimed, finally daring to stand.

Eva protested, loudly.

"I swear she was right in here a few minutes before you got home. She has to be here. Bristow!" he called.

Nadia finally got Eva out from under her shirt and turned the baby upright to burp her.

"Bristow!"

"Bristow?!"

"BRISTOW!"

Eva began to wail at her parents' pacing and confusion but Nadia didn't dare put her down when she already had one child missing.

"Are you sure she didn't go outside, Eric?"

"Wasn't the door locked when you came in? And her shoes are right here. And she always asks if we can take her outside. Bristow!"

Nadia froze in place, hugging her daughter. Why wasn't she answering? If she was in the house, then why wasn't she answering? Could someone have gotten in? Could the people who got to Sydney—or that assassin—or just anybody walking by—

Eric opened the closet to grab his coat and stopped. "Nadia…"

She crossed the room quickly. Bristow was curled up in the corner of the closet, sleeping.

Nadia exhaled a breath, put Eva in her husband's arms and knelt down. "Bristow?" She shook her niece gently. "Bristow, are you okay?"

Bristow's eyes opened and she yawned. "Tia?"

Nadia reached out and picked up the child. "What were you doing in there? We couldn't find you."

Bristow made an uncomfortable frown. "I'm sorry."

Nadia carried her back to the couch. "Are you okay?"

Bristow hugged her around the neck tightly. "Yes. I like it in there. It's safe."

"You don't feel safe, Bristow?" Eric questioned, lightly.

Bristow shrugged and pulled back from Nadia. "Did you see my mom?"

Nadia nodded. "She's…she's doing better, Bristow."

"Can I see her?"

"No, not yet. She still has to get much better first."

Bristow looked uncertain. "How did Mommy get so hurt?"

Nadia gave Eric a worried look.

"Did she have an accident?" Bristow wondered.

Nadia sighed. She'd love to lie to the little girl and tell her it was all an accident. "Is…is that what you think happened?"

"No," Bristow said with a shake of her head. "I think somebody hurt her."

Nadia looked at her niece with an anguished look. "Why's that?" she asked, with glassy eyes.

"Somebody hurt Daddy, and so I can't see him. And now Mommy's hurt and I can't see her." A look of absolute despair passed over Bristow's eyes, more than any three year old should ever have.

Nadia shook her head. "Oh Bris. Your mother isn't dead."

Bristow didn't look at all convinced.

Nadia looked to Eric and he moved closer. "She's in the hospital," Eric tried to explain. "Remember, where we went when Eva was born? She's lying in a bed and there are doctors there that are going to make her better."

Bristow didn't say anything and Nadia had no idea if they were getting through or not. She just hugged her niece closer and rubbed her back. "I think it's time we got you ready for bed."

Bristow's arms gripped onto her. "I don't want to sleep in my room. Please, tia, I want to stay with you."

"Okay, okay," Nadia soothed. "But first, you have to get a bath." She got up and took her niece by the hand.

It was a long bath that Nadia hoped would sooth the child and then they got her into soft fluffy pajamas and put her to bed with her and Eric. She thankfully went to sleep while Eric got Eva down.

He came to bed awhile later. They were all exhausted but Nadia found herself staring at the ceiling for a long time. Alert to every sound in the house and movement in the bed. She was still wide awake two hours later when the whimpers started. Pained. Fearful.

The little girl began to toss and turn as tears streamed down her face.

Nadia watched helplessly a moment, hoping the child would start to calm again.

Eric rolled over and started to notice Bristow's movements too.

Nadia finally put a hand on the little girl's shoulder and shook her. "Bristow, Bris, it's okay."

Bristow's eyes popped open and she looked completely disoriented for a moment before she burst into sobs.

"Bris...oh..." Nadia pulled the child into her arms and Bristow sobbed into her chest. "Bris, you're safe. You're safe." She rocked her niece in her arms but Bristow continued sobbing for a long time, until finally Nadia rocked her back to sleep.

She got the child settled back in the bed but she couldn't even think about sleep after that. She finally climbed out of the bed.

"Nadia?" Eric asked, drowsily.

"I'm just checking on the baby. Go back to sleep." Nadia went into the nursery but Eva was still out.

She sat down in the rocking chair where she had a good view of her sleeping baby and just kept rocking.

"Tia, can you make me look pretty?"

"You always look pretty, Bris. But I can do something with your hair. Did you decide what you want to wear?" Nadia sat down on the bed with the hairbrush and began brushing Bristow's sandy hair.

"I want to wear a dress. A red one," Bristow answered.

It had taken a week, but the day before Sydney had finally moved from the ICU, which meant Bristow could finally see her.

"Alright. I don't know if we have your red dress here, but we can run to your house and get it," Nadia assured the child. "Now do you think you want to bring anything else? I'm going to take your mother some flowers."

Bristow thought a moment. "A balloon. A red one."

Nadia laughed. "Alright. We'll see if we can find her a red balloon at the gift shop." Nadia began adding bands and barrettes to Bristow's hair and two sparkly red butterfly clips.

"Can Eva come?"

"No, Eva's going to stay with Uncle Eric."

"What if she gets hungry like last time?"

"We'll be back before then, Bris," Nadia assured her niece.

They made a quick stop at the house to get Bristow into her red dress and then spent a little time at the gift ship finding a red balloon. Then, they got into the elevator and went up to Sydney's floor.

Nadia was about to ask the nurse for the room number when she saw Jack emerging from a room and walked up to him. "How's she doing?" Nadia questioned.

"She's awake, alert," Jack responded. He gave Bristow a scrutinizing glance. "Do you want me to wait with her while you go in?"

"No. I brought Bristow to see her."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Jack answered.

Nadia frowned and crossed her arms. "Why not?"

"Why don't you at least go in and clear it with Sydney first. She may not want the child to see her in this condition."

Nadia sighed. "You wait here with Grandpa Jack, okay? I'm going to be right back."

Bristow nodded and glanced at her grandfather, hesitantly.

Nadia took a breath and carried her flowers into Sydney's room with a smile. "Hello."

Sydney was half-sitting up in the bed staring out the window. Most of the swelling in her face was down though it was still somewhat bruised. She only seemed to be hooked to one IV and machine. Her leg was still elevated in a cast.

"Hey," Sydney said, softly.

"These are for you," Nadia announced, offering the flowers. "I see I'm not the only one." She gestured to the flowers, balloons and stuffed animals trying to liven up the room.

"Thank you," Sydney responded.

"How are you feeling? Up to company?" Nadia questioned.

Sydney shrugged and almost smiled. "I'm glad to see you, Nadia. How's my favorite niece?"

Nadia pulled into her pocket and offered the latest picture she had of Eva. "She's good, as amazing as usual. She's at home with Eric. Anyway, as for company, I didn't mean me, but Bristow."

"Bristow's here?" Sydney realized.

"Yes, she's right outside with your father. I want to bring her in to see you."

"No," Sydney responded immediately. "She doesn't need to be here, Nadia. She shouldn't see me right now."

"Sydney, you're her mother. She's worried about you. She wants to see that you're okay."

"You can tell her that I'm okay."

"We've tried, Sydney. It's not really working. Bristow hasn't seen you in two weeks and she's been very upset about it. Hiding, not feeling safe, not having much of an appetite or being able to sleep because of nightmares. She practically thinks you're dead because she hasn't seen you in so long."

"Nadia, you're not listening. I am really not up to—"

"Bristow needs this and I'm not taking her home until she sees her mother."

Sydney straightened. "Fine."

Nadia sighed and went back into the hallway. Bristow and her grandfather seemed to be engaged in a solemn staring contest as neither of them was saying a word each other.

"Come on, Bris." Nadia offered her hand.

Jack looked surprised but he said nothing.

The little girl took her aunt's hand. Nadia walked Bristow into the room and halfway to the bed. Then, she let Bristow's hand go.

Bristow continued forward hesitantly. "This is for you." Bristow offered her balloon.

Sydney didn't reach for it.

"She picked it out herself," Nadia mentioned.

Sydney took the balloon.

It was silent for almost a minute.

"I'm staying with Aunt Nadia," Bristow finally said.

"I know," Sydney answered. "Are you behaving yourself?"

Bristow took a minor step back. "Yes?"

"That's not what your aunt's telling me. She said you're not eating and hiding. My being in the hospital is no excuse for you to act like that. I'm fine and your aunt and uncle have their own baby to worry about. You need to not be making yourself an extra bother."

"Sydney!" Nadia scolded, moving forward between her sister and her niece. "She comes to see you and gives you present you don't even thank her for and you're picking on _her_ behavior? She's a child."

"She still knows better, Nadia."

Nadia turned towards Bristow who was holding her lips tightly together to hold back any noise but the tears filled her eyelids and started spilling down her cheeks. Nadia sighed and took Bristow and headed towards the door. She met Jack in the doorway. "Watch her one more minute."

Nadia stormed back into her sister's room. "You chose to run off and almost got yourself killed and your daughter has every right to be upset about it."

Sydney rolled her eyes. "Of course, I _wanted_ to be held in a tiny, dark room and tortured for days, Nadia. That was my plan."

"Maybe it was, Sydney. I don't know. You're certainly not planning for your future. You're not planning for her. When my daughter was born, it cemented for me that I was never going back to being a spy. I was never going to put myself in harm's way so that I wouldn't be around to raise her. You can't even think of Bristow for five minutes. You don't think about who is going to take care of her if you don't make it out of the next tiny, dark room."

"I have an insurance policy, Nadia. She'd be taken care of."

"Would she, Sydney? I know what it's like to grow up an orphan and I would not wish that on anyone. You exist, but nobody cares. You have a sweet, good, sensitive little girl. You're just never around long enough to see it. He's gone, Sydney. You can't bring him back. She's still here. And you treat her like she's nothing!"

"Nadia, I told you I wasn't up to having her visit."

"I'm not just talking about today."

"Well, my leg is going to take another six to eight weeks to heal so I'll be stuck at home anyway. I'll see plenty of her then."

"It shouldn't take a broken leg to get you to spend time with your own child, Sydney. It just shouldn't."

Her sister turned her head and looked out the window, disinterested.

Nadia just let out an exasperated sigh and stormed from the room.

Jack was sitting on the bench outside with Bristow whimpering in his lap, obviously at a loss as to how to comfort the child. "What happened to her?" he wanted to know.

Nadia picked up Bristow off his lap. "Your daughter happened to her. She started berating Bristow from the minute she saw her."

"Perhaps—"

"And don't you dare start trying to make excuses for her, Jack Bristow. Because there are no excuses." Nadia stormed towards the elevator hugging her niece to her. "It's okay, Bris. You're going to be okay."

But Bristow whimpered the entire elevator ride and Nadia had to pry the little girl's arms from around her neck to strap her in the car seat.

"I'm sorry, Tia," Bristow suddenly announced between sniffles.

"Sorry for what Bristow?"

"I'm sorry I've been bad at your house."

Nadia hugged the child again. "Oh Bris. You are a good girl. You don't have anything to be sorry about. You're such a good, special, little girl. Your mom was just…she's just in a bad mood and that's not your fault. Okay?"

Bristow didn't seem convinced.

Nadia kissed the top of her niece's head. "We've still got a little time before we have to be back at the house. Let's go somewhere, just you and me. Go get some ice cream."

"I don't want ice cream," Bristow sniffled.

"What do you want to do?" Nadia questioned.

Bristow thought a minute. "I want to feed the ducks."

"In the park?" Nadia asked.

Bristow nodded.

"Okay. Let's go get some bread."


	19. Chapter 19

**NINETEEN**

"Sydney, are you sure about this?"

"I have my crutches, Nadia. I've been getting around the house just fine."

"But still, having Bristow here--"

"She knows better than to get into the trouble. And this is her home. She's inconvenienced you and Eric for what, three and a half weeks. It's not fair to you."

Nadia shook her head. "She's really no trouble, Sydney. She never is."

Sydney propped her leg up on the footstool as she eased into the chair. "Is this about what happened in the hospital?"

Nadia crossed her arms. "Well, I suppose it is in a way. You didn't seem up to having her around and I just can't believe you are right now."

Sydney shrugged. "I have six weeks at home with nothing to do. There's no reason Bristow can't be here. Jillian's going to pick her up and take her to her dance classes and everyone at work has pitched in with meals."

Nadia nodded. "I just don't want you to get over tired. I need to know you'll call me if you need anything. I'm just at home with the baby."

Sydney sighed. "You can get the weekly groceries, okay?"

"Sure."

"Well, that should cover it."

Nadia sighed. "Maybe Eric, Eva and I can all come over dinner some night soon. We haven't done that in a long time."

"That'd be fine."

Nadia nodded. "Sydney, about the hospital...I just want you to know if you do get overwhelmed, please just call. If you need me to take Bristow for less than hour, I'll do it. I just don't want you to be constantly upset with her. This is hard on her too and she just really needs a lot of extra care right now."

She heard a car door slam outside.

"That must be them now." Nadia went to the door. Bristow was insistently carrying her own overnight bag as Eric came up behind her with Eva in his arms.

Eva's whole face lit up as they neared the door. Nadia knew she could never tire of the way her girl's entire mood perked up just at the sight of her. The four-month old let out a happy squeal.

Nadia took her daughter into her arms and stopped Bristow in the doorway before she could go in. The little girl looked anxious.

"My mom's in there?"

Nadia nodded. "Yeah. And she looks much better than last time. All she has is a cast on her leg and some special crutches to help her walk until her leg gets better. I'm going to be by every week to drop of groceries and we're all going to come over for dinner one night soon."

Bristow nodded, still looking apprehensively beyond the door.

"We love you lots, Bris. You can call us if you need anything." Nadia knelt down and hugged her niece.

"Goodbye, Tia," Bristow whispered in her ear.

Eric moved forward then and Bristow quickly hugged him too when he knelt down. "Alright, and don't forget the littlest one."

Nadia knelt with Eva where Bristow could kiss the baby's forehead. Nadia smiled at the cousins.

"I'll be good," Bristow promised them.

"You're always good," Nadia assured her.

The little girl went inside the house. Nadia peeked in the door.

"You should get going," Sydney called towards the door. "Go ahead and unpack, Bristow."

The little girl headed off to her room.

Nadia sighed and left locking the front door. "I'm starting to think we need to take these six weeks that Sydney's home and teach her how to interact with Bristow."

"Nadia?"

"What?"

Eric gave her a concerned look. "I just think it might be a good idea to give them a little space while you focus on recovering. You'd been stressed and just running in high gear for the last few weeks, trying to do everything. You deserve a break."

Nadia sighed and hugged Eva to her. "And someone can definitely use all the attention she can get."

Eva let out a squealing giggle.

"I think she likes that thought," Eric answered. "We'll give Bris and Syd a little space. Help out still of course, but we just can't be over there every single day."

"Agreed," Nadia answered with a sigh.

They headed back to the car.

* * *

"Is she breathing?"

"Of course she's breathing, Eric."

"But she's so quiet."

"I know."

"How long has it been?"

"Six hours, forty-three minutes."

"Nadia, this is amazing."

"I know. I'm going to cry."

"I think this is a time for celebration. Four and a half months and Eva Weiss slept an entire night. We may finally have our nights to ourselves again."

Nadia tilted her head, watching her daughter in the crib. "I thought even if she ever did I'd still wake up every two hours to check on her. But I think I just went out."

"Me too. I think she deserves something special for this."

"Oh, like what?"

"Oh come on, I think it's time Nadia. New toys!"

Nadia shook her head. "You're the one who wants new toys. I think she's fine with the current ones."

"Oh come now. She's doing all kinds of new stuff. She deserves all kinds of new stuff."

"That's true. Here, hand me the camera. We need a picture."

"That is going to wake her up."

"Maybe, maybe not. One quick one." The click and flash of the digital camera only took a second. "Okay, two more."

"Nadia…"

"I'm going to send one to my father. He loves to hear about all her milestones, you know. He called yesterday. Said he wants to drop in soon and discuss something important with us."

"I don't like the sound of that."

"He sounded happy, Eric. I'm sure it's nothing terrible."

"I just hope he doesn't try to talk us into moving like he did when she was first born. I think this place suits us right now."

"Oh Eric, look. A yawn."

"She is waking up. Ooo, what's the count?"

"Six hours, fifty-two minutes."

"Good morning, baby girl. And guess what? It is actually morning."

"She's totally looking at us like she thinks we're insane."

"I don't care. Six hours, fifty-two minutes she can look at us anyway she wants. This is your special day, Eva."

* * *

Nadia frowned at the darkening sky as she pulled open the car door and began running groceries up to Sydney's front porch. She had a coat at least but her hair was half soaked with rain by the time she finally had the pile of bags under the porch.

She sighed unlocked the door and began carrying them inside. Most of the house was darkened, seemingly dead and empty. Nadia hated that it was like that whenever she dropped by. She thought a house with a child in it should have laughter, and toys strewn about. Much the way her living room did now that Eric had filled it with a bunch of kick-start toys, and an exersaucer. Anything with music and lights he seemed to find and buy. She'd finally told him that he couldn't reward Eva with a new toy for _every_ night she slept through.

Nadia got the frozen foods into the fridge and left the rest of the bags on the counter to empty later. She sighed at a half empty box of cereal sitting on the counter. Sydney had been home for three weeks. The people who had thought to bring meals were dwindling. And on the nights that she didn't come by, Nadia often wondered what the two them ate.

Nadia wandered to the back bedroom.

Sydney was in bed, elevating her leg, tapping away on her computer, thoroughly engrossed.

A crash of thunder sounded outside and lightning flickered blue out the window.

"Hey."

"Hey." Sydney was almost entirely non-expressive.

"I got this week's groceries."

"Thank you."

"How's the leg?"

"Itchy."

Nadia laughed slightly. "What're you looking at?"

Sydney sighed. "Nothing. My father's cut me off from everything at work. Now they're thinking I should see a therapist."

Nadia swallowed. "You haven't really seemed able to talk about what happened."

Sydney shrugged. "I've been tortured what, a dozen times before. It hurts. It's not fun. It's not happy memories to think or talk about. The fact that I don't feel the need to talk about it shouldn't be all that shocking."

"But every time is still different."

Sydney sat back in the bed. "The only thing different about this time was after the second day, I just didn't care. I didn't break not because I was worried about the information but because it just didn't matter whether I got out of there not."

Nadia frowned. "I think you should talk to someone. I understand not wanting to endure the pain, but I think this was something else."

Thunder clapped outside again and then rumbled menacingly.

"Where's Bristow?" Nadia questioned.

"In her room, playing, I think."

"I wonder how she's dealing with this storm." Nadia got up and headed into her niece's room. She pushed the door open and the light was on but the bed was empty. The room was empty.

Nadia walked back into Sydney's room. "She's not in there."

"Maybe she's in the bathroom or playing some place else?"

Nadia frowned and walked back out. "Bristow? Bristow!"

Sydney came hobbling out of the bedroom. "I can't believe her. I told her she had to quit this hiding thing. Bristow, get out here right now!"

"Bristow!" Nadia began searching rooms and checking beneath beds and in cupboards. "Where does she like to hide?"

"Anywhere," Sydney said exasperatedly. "The closets, the bathtub." She hobbled into the bathroom to check and then began checking closets.

Nadia frowned and checked beneath the dining room table and behind the furniture. Why wasn't she answering? Please let the little girl have just fallen asleep. "Bristow! BRISTOW!"

Sydney came out of the bedrooms again.

"Was she in there?"

Sydney shook her head.

"Well, where else could she be?"

"I don't know, Nadia." Sydney sighed. "I'll check the laundry room." She hobbled out of the room.

Nadia sighed as she looked the screen glass door into the pouring rain. Maybe she was hiding because she was afraid of the storm? Another loud clap of thunder and the entire sky and porch illuminated blue.

Nadia's eyes widened at a soaked figure beneath the small round porch table. "SYDNEY! She's outside!"

Nadia didn't wait for a response before she walked forward, yanked open the screen door with some difficulty and rushed forward into the rain. "Bris…Bris…" She grabbed the soaked, shivering child. Bristow didn't even have a coat on and her wet, freezing hair stuck to her face. Her blue lips chattered as Nadia brought her back inside, hugging her close as she shivered.

Sydney stood in the living room, watching.

"Get me some towels!" Nadia ordered as she started to peel the wet clothes off her niece. "What was she doing out there?"

"She asked to go play outside earlier. I thought she'd come in long before the storm started."

"You never checked?!" Nadia asked as she snatched the towels from her sister's hand. She finished stripped Bristow down and started trying to wrap the small, pale girl in the dry towels but Bristow still trembled and her entire body felt so cold.

"I walked by earlier and I didn't see her out there. I thought she'd come in."

"She's ice cold, Sydney," Nadia said, with a cry. "She needs a warm bath, maybe some hot soup."

Sydney hobbled away to start the bath.

Nadia looked at her small niece. "Oh, Bris, I'm so sorry." It had been storming for awhile and the child must have been out in it all this time.

"T-t-t…" Bristow responded, starting to whimper.

"You must have been so scared, Bris. So scared."

"T-tia. T-t-tia…" Bristow cried, sobbing. Nadia imagined she was starting to feel the pain now that she wasn't quit so numb.

Nadia hugged the child in the towel close to her and carried her in the bathroom. She didn't care that the tub was only half filled with water, she plopped Bristow into the warm water.

Sydney watched the scene, expressionless as her daughter sobbed in the water.

"Stay with her!" Nadia ordered. "I'm going to start her some soup."

"Tia!" Bristow cried as she saw her aunt leaving the room.

"I'll be right back, Bris." Nadia hurried into the kitchen though she could still hear the warm water running into the tub and her niece's whimpers.

She poured the soup into a pan on the stove to heat and then grabbed the phone. "Eric…" She wanted to cry into the receiver.

"Nadia, what's wrong?"

"I'm going to be awhile."

"What's wrong?" Eric repeated.

"Is Eva okay?"

"She's getting a little fussy but we're okay for a little while. But I can hear it in your voice, Nadia. What happened?"

"I don't even know yet. I just need to be here right now. I'm fine, Eric. I really am. I just need to be here with Bristow for awhile."

"Okay."

"I'm sorry."

"Nadia, it's okay. Eva and I are watching football and loving it. Well in between the weather bulletins."

"Keep her away from the windows…the storm."

"I will, Nadia. I will. You just take care of what you need and hurry home."

Nadia hung up the phone.

"TIA! TIA!"

Nadia hurried back into the bathroom where her niece was screaming in the tub. Sydney was watching, helplessly.

"What happened?" Nadia asked her sister.

Sydney shook her head, agitated. "She just wants you, alright?" Sydney hobbled from the bathroom and left them.

"What is it, Bris?"

"I c-couldn't get b-back in," Bristow whimpered into the warm tub water. "I c-couldn't g-get back in."

Nadia blinked hard. "I'm sorry, Bris."

"I tried all the d-doors. I knocked. I couldn't get b-back in. Mommy didn't c-come. It was loud, Tia. And scary."

"I know, Brissy. I'm so sorry."

"It was c-cold. And Mommy didn't let me in."

"Did you see her in here? Did she see you out there?" Nadia wondered.

Bristow continued to cry. "I knocked and I couldn't see her at all. I knocked but she didn't come."

"Come on, let's get you of this tub and get you some hot soup okay." Nadia dried the little girl off thoroughly before she helped her into thick pajamas, wrapped her up in a blanket and brought her into the living room.

Sydney was nowhere in sight but Nadia thought it just as well. She put Bristow's soup in a mug and got a spoon. She curled up around the child and fed it to her. When she finished the mug, the little girl had finally stopped shaking so terribly.

"I didn't like it out there. Please don't leave me, tia. Please don't."

Nadia just hugged her close. She stroked the child's drying hair and Bristow lay her head in her lap. Nadia rubbed the girl's back until she drifted off.

The floor creaked as Sydney emerged from her bedroom and came over to the chair.

"How's she doing?"

"Do you really even care?" Nadia wondered.

Sydney frowned. "I didn't do this on purpose, Nadia. I swear I never heard her knock."

Nadia shook her head and gathered up her niece in her arms. "You still let it happen. You left your three year old daughter out in a thunderstorm because you couldn't care enough to check and see if she was inside."

"The door wasn't even locked."

"So what? It's still difficult to open. It sticks and she couldn't do it. Goodness Sydney, when are you going to wake up from your old little world and start paying attention?"

Sydney sighed and looked at the sleeping child. "You can put her in her bed."

Nadia hugged the girl closer and stood up. "I'm not leaving her here."

"Nadia, you're not taking her home with you tonight. I won't allow it."

"You won't allow it?!" Nadia exclaimed, despite hearing Bristow mumble against her shoulder.

Sydney crossed her arms. "She's fine and she's going to be fine."

"You have no idea how she is. She was scared to death tonight and now anytime she goes outside to play, she's going to have to wonder if Mommy's going to remember she's out there or if she'll never be able to get back inside."

Sydney shook her head. "You think I wasn't worried when I didn't know where she was?"

"I don't know, Syd. Were you worried or just annoyed?"

"You're not taking her!" Sydney answered, angrily. "Now, put her in her bed and get out of here."

"I am not going to leave her here with you just to be ignored after everything she's been through tonight!"

The phone ringing cut Sydney off from a response. The two sisters stared at each other as it rang several more times before the machine finally picked up.

Immediately, a screaming wail came on the line. Nadia blinked hard. Her daughter's hungry cry.

"Nadia? Nadia! Are you still over there?" Eric sounded completely flustered. "Are you--" Eva's intense screaming cry cut him off for a moment. "Are you coming home soon? Can you call me?"

The machine clicked off and Sydney stared at her. "I think maybe you need to be paying a little more attention to your daughter and a little less attention to mine."

Nadia glanced one more time at Bristow before lowering the girl back onto the couch. "I want her for the weekend."

"We'll see," Sydney responded.

Nadia frowned, giving her drowsy niece and quick kiss before tossing a glare at her sister, grabbing her purse and heading out. She drove quickly through the rain back to her apartment. She climbed out of the car and hurried up to the door.

The cries could be heard before she even opened it. Frustrated, she put her key in the lock and pushed the door open. She shed her coat and pushed her soaked hair from her face.

Eric turned and looked at her. "I've been trying to call you," he said over the wails. "She's been like this for forty-five minutes. What happened?"

Nadia reached for the red face squirming five-month old who continued to shriek at her. "Just give me a minute, Eric."

Eric sighed and walked off into the kitchen.

Nadia sighed. "Eva, I'm sorry. I'm sorry." She tried to soothe her daughter enough to get the baby to nurse. The baby continued to whimper if Nadia even dare shift position. Nadia brushed her daughter's mottled, tear stained face as the baby calmed and exhaustedly began to cry again. She was too tired to eat. Nadia let the baby keep trying until she finally went completely out. Nadia stroked her fingers through the black wisps messed on the child's sweaty forehead and stroked the soft, chunky arms her daughter had started to get.

Eric returned and sat down in the chair with a beer, but he was silent in the way he always was when he upset. He didn't frown or slam doors. He was just quiet.

Nadia dared to get up and go put Eva down in her crib. He spoke the second she returned.

"I hate it Nadia, when she cries and there's absolutely nothing I can do. We have got to work out something different."

She stared at him.

"Maybe we could let her try a bottle once in awhile?" he asked. "So there's some alternative if you're delayed."

Nadia frowned.

"Nadia, you don't have to hear her crying and know she's hungry and be completely useless."

"I know."

"I mean, what happened tonight? I thought you were just going shopping and dropping off groceries."

"Sydney had somehow left Bristow outside in the storm and didn't even notice," Nadia answered.

Eric looked at her wide-eyed. "Is Bristow okay?"

"She was wet and cold and scared when I found her. But between Sydney's leg and her total disinterest, I had to get Bris warmed up and fed and calmed down. I wanted to bring her home with me but Sydney was against it and we got into an argument…" Nadia sunk back to a seat on the couch. "Eric, I'm sorry."

Her husband sighed. "It's good you were there. I'm sure Bristow needed you."

"Eva needed me too. And I'm not any better than Sydney if I'm ignoring our daughter."

Eric came over and sat down on the couch beside her. "You weren't ignoring her, Nadia. You were just doing what you needed to do. I was stressed when you came in. Eva's far from wasting away."

"Yeah, but she doesn't even understand. She just knows she's hungry and Mommy's not around and not doing anything about it. I don't want to be making her feel unimportant or like I don't care."

"I told her. I told her you were coming." Eric put an arm around her. "And she's fine."

Nadia leaned into him. "We can start introducing solid food to her next month. A little rice cereal maybe. At least then she can be given _something_ when I'm not here."

Eric nodded. "Will that be okay? I mean, we wouldn't be rushing it, would we?"

"The pediatrician says there's no rush but she's been old enough for a couple months now. I just didn't want to cause I didn't think it was necessary."

"You really don't have to if you don't want to," Eric responded.

Nadia shrugged. "I suppose it's really up to Eva and if she's interested."

"I don't think I've ever seen our daughter uninterested in food."

Nadia couldn't quite manage a laugh.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm just worried about Bristow. She didn't want me to leave her."

"You can check on her tomorrow, or I will, or we both can."

"I asked if we could take her for the weekend. I hope that's okay."

Eric nodded. "Of course. It's easier having her here. I know you worry so much about her when she's not. And Eva's always so happy to see her."

Nadia nodded.

"So, our baby girl is asleep and I think you need to relax. How about a movie?"

"Mmm. That sounds nice."

"You sit here. I'll make the popcorn." He kissed her and got up.

She let out a deep breath and sat back on the couch.


	20. Chapter 20

**TWENTY**

"There's Uncle Eric!" Bristow pointed.

Nadia smiled and followed her niece across the park to the spread blanket he had with Eva sitting up on it surrounded by toys with a half pillow around her to make sure she didn't fall over.

Nadia had dressed their daughter in a purple romper complete with a matching headband that Eva had nicely not been trying to remove.

Bristow immediately plopped down on the blanket to play with her cousin.

Eric got up to greet Nadia. "So that took a little longer than I thought it would."

"Yes, Sydney was surprised to see me. She thought since she got the cast off this week, I wouldn't come try and grab Bristow this weekend."

"But she was okay?"

"She was civil anyway," Nadia responded. She grinned at the sound of her daughter giggling loudly as Bristow played peek-a-boo with the little girl.

"How's Bristow seemed?"

"I don't know. She was quiet the whole ride here. And is she looking thinner to you?" Nadia tilted her head, watching Bristow with a frown.

Eric watched a moment. "Yeah, a little."

"I don't think Sydney's been doing much cooking. Anytime I drop in unexpectedly Bristow's munching on something cold from the refrigerator or eating cold cereal. I am trying so hard to be patient with her considering everything she must have gone through, but I feel like we have million things we need to do for Bristow or they won't get done. I want to get those bangs out of her eyes and she needs some clothes that actually fit."

"Well, I can take her shopping when we're done here," Eric responded.

"You sure?"

Eric sighed. "It bothers me too. I just know Mike would want his daughter to have the best of everything. I mean, that's what she deserves. And Sydney could give her that but she doesn't. Maybe I don't talk about it much because I just get more and more angry whenever I think about it."

"Well, we had dinner over there but maybe we can have her and Bristow over for dinner at our house and get a chance to talk about it."

"If she feels ambushed, she's not going to listen to us."

"She doesn't ever want to listen to us."

"Tia?"

Nadia knelt down. "What is it, Bris?"

"Eva's stinky."

Nadia grinned. "Oh really? Tell your uncle. He is specifically in charge of taking care of that."

Eric made a slight face.

Nadia looked Eva, who was looking up at all of them with happy brown eyes. She stuck out her tongue laughing happily as her father approached her.

He picked up his daughter carefully. "Eva, I thought we had a deal. You save the stinky for when I'm not around."

Eva giggled at him.

Nadia hugged Bristow to her and frowned as the little girl stiffened. "Hey, you okay?"

Bristow pulled free of the hug. "I want to help Uncle Eric."

Nadia nodded.

The little girl scampered after her uncle.

* * *

The front door slammed and Nadia quickly up from the bed and went into the living. "Did you buy the whole store?" she laughed.

Eric had a handful of outfits slung over his shoulder and more over one arm. "Not the whole store. I mean, we left behind all the boy's outfits."

"We got stuff for Eva too!" Bristow announced.

Nadia eyed her husband and crossed her arms.

"Hey, don't look at me. It was Bristow's idea. She didn't want to leave Eva out."

"Where's Eva? I want to show her!" Bristow said.

"Your cousin is sleeping, but you can show her later. Right now, it's time for your bath."

Bristow sighed. "Thank you for the clothes, Uncle Eric." She headed towards the bathroom.

"We're going to have to keep half this stuff here. If we send her home in a new outfit, Sydney won't notice. But if we bring her an entire new wardrobe and put it in the closet…"

"We can just sneak a new outfit home every time she's here," Eric replied. "And take out the stuff Sydney sends her in that doesn't fit anymore."

Nadia nodded. "We have something we need to talk about but let me get her in the tub first." She headed towards the bathroom and turned on the water.

Bristow stood by the tub.

"Did you have fun with Eric?" Nadia questioned.

The little girl nodded immediately. "We got popsicles. And Uncle Eric let me pick. And he let me pick the clothes I wanted too. And he told me about my Daddy."

"Really?"

Bristow nodded. "He said my Daddy loved me and Mommy a lot."

Nadia added bubble bath to the water. "Yes, he did. You want to get in while it finishes filling up?"

Bristow nodded and started to undress, pulling off her shirt first. "He said he misses my Dad. That they were best friends."

Nadia gasped at a dark purple bruise across her niece's back. She swallowed trying to hide her horror as the little girl turned back around. "Bris…" Nadia asked, shakily. "How did you get that bruise on your back?"

Bristow frowned and pressed her lips tightly together.

Nadia knelt down to her niece's height. "It's okay, Bris. I just want to know what happened."

The little girl started to take a step back, looking very uncomfortable.

Nadia turned off the bath water so she could hear the little girl. "Why didn't you tell me, Bris? It must hurt a lot."

Bristow blinked rapidly.

"Please, can you tell me what happened?"

Bristow shook her head.

"Why not?"

"I don't want to get in trouble," Bristow whispered.

"Why would you get in trouble?"

Bristow wiped tears on her arm. "I was bad."

Nadia couldn't think of a single time she had ever thought her niece was bad, but she tried not to argue. "What do you mean?"

"I'm sorry, tia."

"Oh, Bris. I'm not mad you. I just want to know what happened. It's okay."

"Mommy will get mad at me."

Nadia could feel her heart pounding but she tried to keep herself calm. "It's just you and me talking right now, Bris. Mommy's not here and you can tell me anything you want."

"I was bad," Bristow insisted. "That's why it happened."

"Why what happened?"

"Why I fell."

"Fell? How did you fall?"

"I stood on the couch and I'm not supposed to and I fell. And it hurt a lot."

Nadia let out a relieved sigh. "Why did you stand on the couch?"

"There was a bug," Bristow answered.

Nadia blinked. "What happened when you fell?"

"I hit my back on the table."

"And what did Mommy do?"

Bristow shook her head. "Nothing. I didn't tell her."

"Why not?"

"I didn't want her to get mad at me."

"What happens when Mommy gets mad?"

"She yells. A lot more since she's home now."

Nadia took a deep breath. "Does she ever hit you?"

"Yes." Bristow wiped more small tears.

"Where does she hit you?"

"On the bottom," Bristow answered.

"Are there any bruises there?"

Bristow shook her head.

"Has she ever hit you any place else?"

Bristow shook her head again.

"Does she hit you with her hand or…is there ever anything else?"

"Her hand. But it still hurts. Please don't tell her, tia. Please don't. I'm sorry."

Nadia tried to smile, reassuringly. "Bristow, you don't have anything to be sorry about. It was an accident. And nobody should be mad at you for getting hurt. And Bristow, you are _not_ bad. You're not bad. You're a very good girl and I love you very much."

Bristow nodded.

Nadia gave her niece a gentle hug. "I'm so sorry you got hurt. You want to take your bath now?" Nadia tested the water. "It's still warm enough."

Bristow nodded.

Nadia stayed and talked to Bristow while she washed up and then she tucked the little girl into her bed and stayed until she fell asleep.

Nadia emerged from the bedroom and found Eric stretched out on the couch in the darkened living room. She came over and sat down on the edge, leaning into him and he put his arms around her.

"Shopping wore me out, sorry."

"Eric…?"

"Hey, what is it?"

"I want to take Bristow to the doctor."

"She's sick?"

"She has this huge bruise on her back. She said she just fell but I just…I just want a doctor's opinion on it."

"You think Sydney…?"

"Bris says she fell off the couch and probably hit the coffee table. I mean, she didn't seem to have made that up. And she told me…apparently Sydney spanks her. I mean I guess I shouldn't be surprised and I know it's not a crime but Bris, you can give her a look and she'll instantly apologize. There's no reason. And she's so afraid of Sydney. It's just not right. I need to take her to a doctor. I need to know that she's okay."

"Okay, Nadia. But do you mean like the hospital or you want to make an appointment?"

Nadia sighed. "I don't know." She leaned more against him, resting her head on his chest. "The doctor's are closed all weekend unless we take her to some emergency place. And I don't want to scare her like that."

"Maybe we can talk Sydney into letting you keep her on Monday so you can make an appointment with Eva's pediatrician."

"Maybe. I hope so. Bris needs the break." Nadia sighed. "She said you two talked about Vaughn."

"Yeah. I don't think Syd tells her much about him so I try. She should know something about him besides that he's dead. What kind of person he was."

Nadia nodded. "I wish I'd known him longer so I could tell her more about him."

"I don't think she's ever seen his grave, even." He rubbed her arms.

Nadia sighed.

"Is there anything else?"

"No. Yes." Nadia sat up straight again.

Eric sat up as well. "What?"

"While you and Bristow were gone, I just…I had to confirm something I thought was possible."

"Something about Bristow?"

"No, not about Bristow." Nadia took a deep breath. "Eric, I'm pregnant."

Eric flipped on the light causing them both to squint. "What? You never even told me you suspected."

"I didn't have any real evidence. Just felt tired and then I was late so I finally grabbed a test. I have a feeling it was one of those nights we were celebrating Eva sleeping through the night."

"Well, it looks like we're going to get to our half dozen pretty quickly then." He grinned. "This is great."

"Is it?" Nadia flopped back on the couch.

"You're not happy."

"I guess I thought we'd space the kids out just a little more than this. Eva will be what, fourteen months old when this baby is born?"

"So hopefully since they'll be so close in age, they'll be close friends." Eric tried to smile. "It's not just that, is it?"

Nadia crossed her arms uncomfortably. "I just feel overwhelmed. I feel like Eva barely gets enough of my time and Bristow is constantly starved for attention. I hate to think of either of them being reduced to even less time. I'm just going to be more and more tired as this pregnancy goes on. I hate thinking that I'm not going to be there enough for them."

"But you will be there. Nadia, you're a wonderful aunt and a fantastic mother. You're amazing and I think if we had a zillion kids you'd still make sure to give plenty of attention to each and every one of them."

"And what about you?" Nadia wondered. "I just want us to still have time for each other too. And we've really not been into the idea of leaving Eva with anyone but us yet."

Eric sighed. "Okay, so there'll have to be some adjustments for both of us if there's going to be time for us too."

"Yaeh, I mean, we have a little time, I suppose." She leaned into him again.

"Yeah, how much time before we share the news?" Eric questioned.

"I don't think we should wait five months this time. My father really didn't appreciate that," Nadia responded.

Eric grimaced. "Your father is going to kill me."

"What are you talking about?"

"For getting you pregnant again this soon. I can imagine the lecture now. I believe he gave it to me the first time he visited the house after Eva was born. He congratulated me once again on our beautiful daughter and then told me he didn't want any more grandchildren for at least two years."

"You never told me that."

"And I'm guessing he never told you either. I think we need to hold off on telling him about this one until some day when I'm out of the country."

"I think it's best we tell him together. If you aren't around, he'll believe you don't support me or aren't interested in this pregnancy."

Eric sighed, sinking. "So really, there's just no good way to tell your father. What about Sydney?"

Nadia shrugged. "She probably won't care."

"I'm not sure if that's better or worse."

"What about Bris?" Eric queried.

Nadia smiled. "She already adores Eva. I hope she'll like this baby just as much. Eva's not going to have a clue what's going on."

"She'll adjust. We all will," Eric assured her. "Remember how amazing it was the day she was born? I can't wait to meet the next new little person we've created."

Nadia smiled. "I love you, especially for putting up with me."

"I assure you, there is no putting up with happening here. Just lots of love." He hugged her closer.

* * *

Eva giggled happily as her grandfather bounced her in his lap, leaning in close and kissing the top of her head of dark brown locks. She reached out a hand towards his face and smiled. She grabbed onto his nose with a laugh.

Nadia winced slightly from her view from the kitchen but her father only chuckled.

"Let go of Grandpa's nose, Eva. Let go. Let go."

"I think we should tell him now," Eric whispered from behind her.

Nadia shook her head. "We agreed after dinner, when he has a full stomach."

"Yes, but look, he's really happy right now."

"After dinner, Eric."

Eva giggled again. "Babababa."

"I've got it. We should have Eva tell him," Eric decided. "Look, she's almost saying baby."

"Eric--"

"She's seven months old. He won't kill her."

Nadia gave him a pointed look. "Did you set the table?"

Eric sighed and walked off.

Dinner was fairly uneventful minus Eva in her high chair, demanding her grandfather's attention. She was lively and kept the focus on herself for almost the entire meal with many squeals and then instantly fell asleep as they were finishing up. Eric put her down in her crib.

"It was nice to finally drop by for an extended visit," Sloane commented when they were settled in the living room after the meal.

Nadia smiled. "It was nice to have you. Eva was totally showing off for her grandpa. If she hadn't fallen asleep, I would have set her up on the floor so you could see her new rocking scoot that she's trying to turn into a crawl."

"I actually have something for Eva," Sloane noted as he began reaching into a pocket.

"Anything but more toys," Nadia said as Eric emerged from the nursery.

"I heard that," her husband said.

Sloane extended an envelope to his daughter.

Nadia opened it suspiciously as Eric read over her should. "Dad… I don't know if we can accept this."

Eric stared at the paper. "I don't know what a twenty-one year old girl would even do with that much money."

"Nadia, she's my only grandchild and I need to know I've done my part to be sure she's taken care of in the future."

Nadia glanced at Eric and swallowed. "This is very kind, Dad. Thank you. But about that only grandchild part…"

Sloane's eyebrow rose. "Yes?"

"I'm…we're pregnant," Nadia announced.

Sloane's eyes narrowed and his gaze switched to Eric.

"Only about eight weeks, this time. Because we know you'd want to know right from the beginning," Eric explained. "We only just got it confirmed by the doctor."

Sloane turned his attention back to Nadia. "How are you feeling?"

"I've been pretty tired, but Eric's just been really extra helpful with Eva. As you can see, we've got her started on some solid foods especially since I'm not sure how nursing is going to go the more pregnant I get. I mean, the doctor says I'm fine to keep at it for now though."

"I'm always more than happy to watch Eva if the need should arise," Sloane assured her. "Still, I am surprised you are having another child so soon."

"We were surprised too," Nadia answered.

Sloane shot Eric a look.

"But now we're pretty sure we can handle it," she continued. "And we hope being so close in age will make the kids pretty close as well."

Sloane nodded, skeptically. "As much as I will adore any child you have, I hate to see you over tired, Nadia."

"I'll take more time off," Eric assured him. "We've got lots of plans on how we're going to do this."

"If you need anything," Sloane began.

"We'll let you know," Nadia said with a nod. "And the trust fund for Eva is really sweet, Dad."

Sloane got up from his chair and kissed the top of her head. He turned to Eric. "You'll see me out?"

Eric gave a pleading look towards Nadia.

She stood up as well but the phone rang. "Sorry," she mouthed to him as Eric and Sloane headed out the front door.

She grabbed the phone. "Hello?"

"Tia?"

"Hi, Bristow. Are you okay?"

It was quiet a minute and then she could hear her niece's sniffles.

"Bris? What is it? What's the matter? Did you have a bad dream?"

"It's messy, Tia. And I can't find Mommy."

Nadia felt her heart slam and sucked in a breath before responding as calmly as she could. "I'll be right there."


	21. Chapter 21

**TWENTY-ONE**

The front door of Sydney's apartment was wide open. Eric went in first very cautiously, his weapon ready at his side.

The living room looked like a war zone.

Half the furniture was overturned and anything breakable seemed to be broken. Chairs, and barstools were in the middle of the floor. The stuffing was leaking from haphazardly thrown cushions.

Nadia's eyes widened. "Bristow?" she called, cautiously. "Bristow, it's Tia and Uncle Eric. Where are you?"

Eric looked around, still covering the living room. It was in his eyes, just wondering who must have done this and where Sydney could be. There'd been a fight. Had Sydney been taken?

"Bristow, come on out," Eric called.

"Tia?" came a really quiet voice.

Nadia followed the voice into the laundry room. "Bristow?" She turned on the light.

The little girl emerged from a pile of clothes.

"Bristow, are you okay? What were you doing?"

"Mommy told me to hide there if anybody ever broke in," Bristow explained.

Nadia picked up her niece and hugged her tight. "Somebody broke in?"

"I don't know. I just heard lots and lots of noises and Mommy was yelling and I got scared so I went to hide."

Nadia carried the little girl back towards the living room. "Did you see anyone?"

Bristow looked around it with wide eyes, obviously terrified by having her home destroyed. "There was a man here!" she exclaimed, starting to cry.

Eric looked concerned. "Had you ever seen him before, Bris?"

"No. But he was hurting Mommy!" Bristow sobbed.

"Did you see anything else, Bristow? Do you know what happened?" Eric asked, gently, patting his niece's back.

"He was hurting Mommy," she repeated, burying her face in her aunt's chest.

Nadia squeezed her tight. "I should get her home. My dad's going to wonder when we're coming back."

"I'm going to get a team over here," Eric assured her. "See if we can't figure out what happened.

Nadia carried the little girl out of the apartment and drove the car home.

"Is she all right?" Sloane questioned as soon as they entered the apartment.

Nadia nodded. "I think so."

Bristow clung tightly to her, watching Sloane warily.

"Eva didn't wake up, did she?" Nadia questioned.

"No," Sloane assured her. "It's been quiet. Is there news on Sydney?"

"Eric's calling a team now." Nadia put Bristow down carefully. "You want to go check on your cousin?"

Bristow nodded and scampered off to the nursery.

"I'll head over there to assist," Sloane responded.

Nadia rubbed her arms with a slight shudder.

Sloane raised an eyebrow. "Unless you prefer I stayed here. She is all right?" he inquired after Bristow.

Nadia moved to sit down. "I don't know. She said she saw someone hurting, Sydney. I don't know who or how, but she seems pretty shook up about it. I just hate that someone broke into their home and Bristow was there. And Sydney's leg is hardly 100%. I don't know what kind of shape she might be in to fight."

"We'll find her," Sloane said with certainty.

"Bristow doesn't need any more traumas in her life."

Sloane stared towards the nursery. "Bristow is so often in your care. It seems Sydney has little regard for how often she leaves her."

"I don't mind watching her," Nadia said immediately. "I just wish Sydney was there for her more."

"It seems to cause you a great deal of stress."

Nadia turned to her father. "I love Bristow as though she were my own. I'll do anything I have to for her. And when she's not in my care, I worry that she isn't being taken care of. Sydney's rarely there and when she is…she's just not up to taking care of a kid. She's not usually…or ever…really focused on Bristow. I feel like she's my responsibility sometimes."

Sloane put an arm around his daughter. "Nadia, I had no idea."

"I talk to Eric about it, I mean he sees it. I've tried talking to Jack Bristow but that never goes well. We just take her as much as possible because I'm honestly terrified of what's going to happen to her if we don't. Especially when stuff like this happens. I'm sorry to bring all this up. I mean, I know she's not your grandkid--"

"If you ever need anything at all for her, please don't hesitate to ask," Sloane told her.

Nadia leaned into him. "Thank you, Dad."

"You should have told me this was such an issue sooner."

Nadia tried to shrug. "I've been handling it okay, but it's been so much harder lately. I feel like the problem just gets worse and worse."

Bristow came back out of the nursery. "Eva's sleeping. I watched her but she didn't wake up."

Nadia opened her arms. "Good girl, Bris. I guess we better get you to bed too."

Bristow hesitated until Sloane got up from the couch and then she quickly rushed into her aunt's arms.

"Good night, Nadia. Good night, Bristow," Sloane said to them both.

Nadia started to get up.

"I can find my own way out," Sloane assured her. He headed for the door.

When it closed, Nadia turned her eyes to her niece. "Is there anything else about tonight we need to talk about? Anything else you saw or that scared you?"

Bristow curled up against her aunt's chest. "I'm sorry."

"Oh Bris, what happened tonight wasn't your fault, okay. You did exactly what you should do anytime something happens and you need help. I always said you can call me."

"I don't want to go to bed," Bristow said.

Nadia didn't blame the little girl. She and ran her fingers through the chin length sandy hair her niece had, silently wishing Sydney wouldn't keep it clipped so short. "Alright, how about we watch a movie? You can just stay curled up next to me."

"Okay," Bristow answered.

Nadia moved to set up the movie and then wrapped a blanket around her and Bristow as they settled in to watch it. Half an hour into it, her niece was out cold. Nadia kissed the top of her head and hugged her close.

* * *

The phone startled her awake. She leaned way over to grab it, trying not to disturb Bristow. "Hello? Eric?" she asked, hopefully.

"No, Nadia, it's me."

Nadia straightened. "Sydney, where are you?" She glanced around, realizing it was almost 5 a.m.

"You need to go to my apartment. Bristow's there alone."

Nadia sighed. "No, she's right here on the couch with me and she has been for the last eight hours. But good job for finally calling. I'm sure if she hadn't thought to call me she'd only be scared out of her mind right now. Please, tell me what took you so long. Where are you?"

"I'll come get her when I'm back."

"Sydney! The CIA is out looking for you. They think you've been captured or worse."

"I already called them."

Nadia shook her head. "Of course." Of course she had called her job before calling to make sure her daughter wasn't home alone. "Now what's going on? Where have you been?"

"I have to go."

"Sydney!"

A click and then dial tone was the response.

Nadia hung up the phone and shook her head. She started to settle back down but heard Eva starting to cry from the bedroom. She left Bristow sleeping peacefully on the couch and went to get her daughter. She heard the front door open and carried the baby back out with her.

Eric came down the steps and embraced her, giving their daughter a kiss on the head as the little girl reached her pudgy arms towards him. Nadia leaned into him and heaved a sigh. They were all quiet a moment.

Eva started to babble at them both as if to remind them that she'd had a great night's sleep and was ready to play.

Nadia passed their daughter to Eric. "Were you at the office when Sydney called?"

"Yeah, she said someone from Prophet Five broke in and attacked her. She fought them and they started to escape and she took off after them." Eric kissed Eva's cheeks, prompting a few giggles.

"And just left Bristow," Nadia said. "And didn't even bother to call."

"She says there wasn't time, but I don't buy it. She snuck onto some plane the guy got on and got caught, but escaped when they landed. She's in Mexico somewhere now."

Nadia shook her head and glanced at the couch. "Once again, she doesn't care a thing about Bristow when it isn't convenient for her."

Eric shook his head, hugging his baby girl close. "I don't know how she does it either, Nadia but I can't believe the way she scared us and Bristow last night. It's not right and I want to talk to her about it."

"We can talk to her about it. Maybe we can arrange a night where my father watches the kids and we get to talk to Sydney."

Eric shook his head. "Sydney will never go for Arvin Sloane babysitting her kid."

Nadia sighed. "Maybe Jillian? I'm sure Syd already works her to death but this is important."

"Sounds like a plan. So when?"

"Soon, I hope Eric. Just soon."

* * *

"Let me take your coat," Eric offered.

Sydney let him but she was still eyeing him and Nadia suspiciously. "So what exactly was your reasoning behind this evening without the kids?"

Nadia smiled. "We'll get to that. I have some stuff in the oven I need to check." She hurried into the kitchen to remove the rolls. She felt nervous and she doubted she was going to be able to hide it very well. They'd been planning this for three weeks.

She began putting the main dishes on the dining room table just before Eric finally conducted Sydney in there.

"Eric showed me all the new pictures of Eva," Sydney commented. "She's crawling now?"

"Like a pro," Eric answered.

"We thought we'd done our best with baby proofing everything. I mean we went down the check lists in all the books and still, I swear she chews up something new every day."

"Which I say is really the feat. That she chews stuff up when she only has two teeth," Eric responded. "Sit down, Nadia. I'll grab the last of it."

Nadia took a seat at the table.

Sydney gave her sister a knowing look. "This is why you invited me over, isn't it?"

"What?" Nadia asked innocently.

Eric came back with the last dish.

Sydney looked at him and then back at Nadia. "I think there's something you both want to tell me."

Eric looked at Nadia. "You told her already?"

"No."

"But it's obvious," Sydney answered. "You were just as protective of her the last time she was pregnant."

Nadia laughed.

"So fess up, how far along are you?" Sydney wondered.

"Eleven weeks," Nadia answered, starting to serve herself a plate.

Eric sat down, almost ready for Sydney to explode on them.

Sydney took a sip from her water glass. "And it's all going well?"

Nadia nodded. "I've been a little more tired and sick this time around but the doctor says everything looks textbook."

Sydney shook her head and began filling her own plate. "You two are brave."

"No, we're excited," Nadia replied, tightly.

"Yeah, right now. You don't have two screaming babies running around yet," Sydney responded. "I guess I better see how available Jillian's going to be in a few months or if I need to hire someone else."

"You could always stay home with Bristow more," Eric answered, serving himself a plate.

"Actually, I've been thinking about school anyway," Sydney said with a shrug. She started to eat.

"Do you think Bristow's really ready for that?"

"She's almost four. She'll have to do some entrance test but if she passes she can get into early kindergarten."

Nadia frowned. "You're serious? But Bristow seems way too small to be shipped off to kindergarten already. And it's not as if because I'm pregnant now, I can't watch her at all."

Sydney shook her head. "I'm not going to burden you with her when she could be at school learning things anyway."

Nadia sighed. "If you're worried about her learning, you could make sure to spend more time with her, taking her places, teaching her things yourself."

"I have to work, Nadia."

"Not as much as you do," Eric responded.

Sydney put down her fork, indignantly. "Prophet Five is still out there. I was just attacked in my own home. How can the two of you even begin to believe it's safe for me to cut back on my work?"

"Maybe if you wouldn't chase them so much, they wouldn't come after you," Nadia pointed out. "You need to think of Bristow's safety. How safe is it for her to have you constantly chasing these people?"

"I do think of her safety. I think it's not safe to have them out there."

"You can't get rid of them all by yourself," Eric answered.

Sydney shook her head. "If the CIA would put even half the effort into it that I do, I wouldn't have to work so hard. Instead, they're distracted by other things. They don't even care who killed Vaughn anymore."

"It's been over four years, Sydney. There are other threats that have to be addressed, other concerns. And you have other concerns too. You have a daughter," Eric replied.

"A daughter who's underweight and terrified of you," Nadia continued.

Sydney looked at her sister in disbelief. "What do you mean she's underweight? Is that your expert opinion?"

Nadia sighed. "I took her to the pediatrician."

"Why on earth would you do that?"

"Because she had a bruise, Sydney and I wanted to make sure it was healing."

"She what?"

"She was too scared of you to even tell you she got hurt."

"And what was your excuse?" Sydney queried. "Did you not think I'd want to know, Nadia?"

"I don't know. Bristow was convinced she'd only be punished. I figured after getting hurt she'd been punished enough."

"But that's not your decision to make, Nadia."

"You really think she needs to be spanked? As timid and well-behaved as she is?"

"It's none of your business, but she's not the perfect, angel child you seem to think she is."

"She's a kid, Sydney. Kids aren't perfect," Nadia replied.

"Well, neither are you, Nadia. Was this the way you really wanted to spend this evening?"

"We wanted to talk to you calmly," Eric answered. "We just see a lack of concern on your part for Bristow. Not just physically in that she's growing out of all her clothes and you don't notice when she's hurt, but emotionally as well. Do you really want your own daughter to be afraid of you? She should be comfortable coming to you, Syd. She should be able to ask you for help and talk to you about what upsets her."

"She's three-years old. Nothing in her life is really that upsetting."

"I can think of at least one thing," Nadia answered, dryly. "We are trying so hard to help you. Help you relate to Bristow and do what she needs. But you're too stuck on what you want and yourself to care. You have no idea how upsetting that is."

Sydney shook her head and got up from the table. "Well, I certainly don't want to upset you, Nadia. Maybe you shouldn't come around as often. I know I certainly won't be bringing Bristow here."

"Sydney," Eric protested, standing as well. "We love having Bristow here—"

"Well, at the moment, I'm not very comfortable knowing apparently every time I bring her here you feel the need to sneak her off to doctors and drill her about whether or not I'm feeding her or other such nonsense." She headed out of the dining room and to the closet to get her coat.

Nadia followed. "We wouldn't be so concerned about Bristow if you seemed concerned about her at all."

Sydney yanked her coat on. "I'm concerned…concerned that the two of you seem obsessed with her. What do you want to do? Take her away from me?"

"No, Sydney. We just want to help you so you can be a better parent," Eric explained.

"And having one seven month old and one on the way makes the two of you experts now?" Sydney queried incredulously.

"It doesn't take an expert to see that Bristow's being neglected," Nadia answered.

Sydney looked almost ready to explode. "Thanks for dinner," she said with her jaw set angrily. She headed out the front door and it slammed behind her.

Nadia felt her eyes stinging as she turned away from the door.

Eric noticed immediately and embraced her. "Hey, hey, it's okay."

"That's not how I wanted that to go," Nadia cried, annoyed that her hormones were too out of it for her to even try to keep from crying.

"I know."

"I mean, is she serious? Is she not going to let us see Bristow now?"

Eric looked at the closed door. "I don't know. I truly doubt it."

"Cause how are we going to know Bristow's okay?"

"Jillian takes good care of her and I'm sure if Sydney gets her into school…" He sighed and just hugged his wife closer. "Nadia, even though Syd reacted badly to this, maybe she at least heard us and will think about what we said. Maybe there'll be some changes."

Nadia sighed. "Hopefully."

"But it may not be immediate. We might have to give her some time."

"She's had almost four years, more than that if you include the pregnancy to learn how to be a parent. She's not interested, Eric. I'm not sure she ever will be."

Nadia turned and headed into the bedroom.


	22. Chapter 22

**TWENTY-TWO**

Eric pulled open the car door and Nadia sat down inside. He went in and got in on the other side. She rubbed her hands over her belly. She felt larger than she had at sixteen weeks with Eva.

Eric climbed in the other side and shut the car door. He put his keys in the ignition and just turned to her and grinned. She let out a laugh and grinned back.

"So, pretty exciting," Eric noted.

"Definitely," Nadia responded.

"I feel like I went in there with all these ideas of what I wanted and how I was going try not to be disappointed at all, but I wasn't. As soon as we saw that ultrasound and the technician told us, I just felt excited, not disappointed at all."

"When he first asked us, I almost said I wanted to be surprised. I mean it was great knowing with Eva and planning but for a moment, I almost said, no, I didn't want to know."

Eric gave her a wide eyed look. "I'm glad you came to your senses and realized there's no way I could ever handle that. I needed to know."

Nadia laughed. "I realized when I looked over and saw you staring at the screen so hard."

"I just loved the planning we got to be able to do and having so much time to pick a name. You realize how long it took us to pick a name, Nadia? Imagine if we had to have lots of choices going into the delivery room and what if none actually fit the baby after the birth and we had to start over?"

Nadia laughed. "I'd still think we could have attempted to be surprised."

Eric started the car. "We better get to your father's. I'm sure Eva's driving him nuts."

Nadia pulled on her seatbelt. "He was convinced he baby-proofed everything for her visit."

"Yes, but she has four whole teeth now and crawls at the speed of light. These are things I'm sure he didn't count on. As much as she's been drooling, she's probably popped out another tooth while we were gone."

Nadia shook her head. "That's just what you're hoping because you want to start feeding her hamburgers."

"It was one little bite, Nadia. And she liked it." He shook his head. "I'm just looking forward to when she can eat whatever we eat."

"You tasted the baby food again, haven't you?"

Eric made a face. "And it was disgusting."

Nadia couldn't stop laughing the rest of the drive to her father's house. They got out and headed inside.

"Nadia," Sloane greeted instantly, and ushered her into the living room to sit down.

Eric followed. "Where's the rug rat?"

"She's down for her nap," Sloane explained.

"I'm sorry if she was any trouble," Nadia apologized.

"It was wonderful to spend time with my granddaughter," Sloane assured them. "Can I get you anything, Nadia?"

Eric looked around the room as though looking for damage he assumed Eva could have caused.

"I'm fine, Dad."

"How was your appointment?" Sloane questioned.

Nadia smiled at him. "I'm in good health, the baby's in good health. Everything seems pretty normal at this point."

"That's good to hear," Sloane told her.

"There's more," Nadia said, with a grin.

"Oh?" Sloane looked at her with interest.

Nadia nodded to her husband. "Tell him, Eric."

Eric smiled and looked Sloane in the eye. "It's a boy."

Her father turned back to her as if trying to ascertain how she felt about it.

Nadia smiled at him.

"Congratulations, Nadia," Sloane responded.

"Thank you. At first, I think I was hoping Eva would have a little sister, but now I'm getting excited. I can't wait to see and meet this little boy, even though it means I'm going to be decorating an entirely new bedroom and we're going to need a whole new wardrobe of baby clothes for this little guy."

"I'm sure you can find a reputable charity that will take Eva's used baby clothes," Sloane responded.

Nadia smiled. "Well, I was thinking we'd box them up, in case the next one's a girl."

Sloane raised an eyebrow and turned a scrutinizing eye at Eric. "You're already planning another?"

"She means some day. If we ever do…maybe," Eric answered, sheepishly. "There's nothing planned just yet."

"But Eric and I have sort of imagined a big family," Nadia explained.

"We've talked about it in passing really," Eric countered, trying to make messages to her with his eyes. "But we're really happy with just two kids, for right now." He got up. "We should grab Eva and head home."

Sloane nodded. "Of course."

"Thank you so much for watching her. I hope she was good for you."

"We had a lovely time, Nadia. It was a pleasure to watch her." Sloane conducted them into his own ground floor guest room where Eva slept in a portable crib.

Eric reached over and lifted the sleepy nine-month old. Her hair was growing into thick dark wisps. She snuggled into his chest.

Nadia turned to her father as Eric headed out the doorway. "She's napping so well. She really must have played hard."

Sloane nodded. "She was quite active."

Nadia tilted her head, reading her father's face. "Please tell me she didn't break anything."

"Nothing expensive."

"What do you have that's not expensive?" Nadia grimaced. "Dad, I'm sorry."

Her father kissed her forehead. "I spent time with my granddaughter. You do not have to apologize for that."

Nadia nodded and went out to the car. Eric was securing their sleepy girl in a car seat. Then he headed back in for the crib. Nadia reached back and brushed some of the hair from the baby's face. She let out a sigh, just watching her.

Eric finished putting the crib in the back and climbed into the car. "So I think that went rather well."

Nadia nodded.

"Are you okay?"

Nadia nodded again. "I keep looking at her and trying to imagine what our little boy is going to look like."

"Gorgeous if she's any indication," Eric answered.

Nadia smiled at him. "Well, that's a given. Did my father say anything when you went back in?"

"Actually, no. He seemed calm, no thanks to you. I'm starting to think you actually like seeing him plot my death."

Nadia looked thoughtful. "I think he'll be happy with lots of grandchildren. Apparently, Eva did some damage today, but he wasn't even going to mention it."

"Uh oh."

"I think he really enjoyed her as much as he said."

"Hmm, I hope you're right."

* * *

"Eva, don't touch that….Eva, let go…Eva, put it back…Eva…Eva, no."

Nadia finally scrambled across the room to where her amused baby sat yanking on the cord of the table phone about to pull the whole thing down on top of her. "I know you heard me calling you."

"Mabadamada," Eva babbled, then giggled.

"You start putting ma and ma together and you might find that would get you off the hook. Ma-ma," Nadia tried. She sat down on the couch, with her daughter on her lap.

"Madadamaba," Eva responded.

"Now, see, Daddy isn't here to help you either. He's at work."

Eva considered this and finally leaned forward for a snuggle.

Nadia laughed. "Okay, now that might work." She hugged her daughter. Eva crawled further up her belly. "Oh careful, you have a little brother in there that doesn't want to be sat on."

Eva giggled.

"You have a little brother on the way. A baby, right inside there." Nadia pointed to her belly.

Eva watched her a moment.

"Yes, you have no idea what I'm talking about. You are definitely going to be surprised when in a few months he's around and claiming this very lap."

Her daughter snuggled against her.

"Are you getting tired?"

Eva wriggled off her lap towards the floor.

"Of course not." Nadia rubbed her belly. Of course she with the eighteen-week belly was tired while her daughter who had completely skipped her nap for the day was not.

Nadia started to heave herself off the couch to chase after Eva when the phone rang. Nadia grabbed it. "Hello?"

"Mrs. Weiss?"

"Yes, who is this?" Nadia questioned.

"Sorry, it's me, Jillian."

"Oh, Jillian. What's going on? Is Bristow okay?"

"She's fine. She's at dance class. I'm supposed to be picking her up in half an hour but I've got car trouble. Actually, I'm trying to get towed into a shop. Mr. Bristow isn't answering his phone and Sydney's out of town for the day. I was wondering if maybe you could pick her up. After I get towed, I can get a ride back to Sydney's house, but there's just no way I'll reach the dance place in time. I'm sorry if this is a huge imposition. I know I'm not even supposed to be calling you…." Jillian trailed off guiltily.

"You're not?"

"Well, Sydney explained how you're expecting another baby and far too stressed and busy to help out with Bristow these days."

"Oh she did, did she?" Nadia shook her head, fearing Sydney had told Bristow the exact same thing.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called," Jillian apologized. "I might be able to call one of my friends to—"

"Actually, it's fine, Jillian. I'm not too busy to help out at all. I'd be happy to pick up Bristow. Her class is over in half an hour?"

"Yes."

"I'll head over there right now."

"Oh thank you. And once again, I'm sorry."

"It's really no problem." Nadia took a deep breath and hung up the phone. She grabbed Eva crawling past. "Guess what, baby girl. We're going to go see your cousin."

* * *

Nadia carried Eva up the steps of the dance hall and went to the front desk.

Several girls were already leaving with their parents. Nadia looked to a woman who appeared to be an instructor. "Hello, I'm here for Bristow Vaughn."

The woman looked at her. "And you are?"

"I'm her aunt. Nadia Weiss."

The woman checked some paperwork. "Do you have ID?"

Nadia presented a driver's license.

"This way."

Nadia smiled. "Thank you."

She led the way down the hallway to a dance hall room.

Nadia shifted Eva her arms. "So do you ever teach Bristow?"

"Yes."

"She must be a sweetie to have in your class," Nadia mentioned.

The instructor didn't even turn around. "She's small, painfully shy and has little sense of movement, coordination or rhythm."

Nadia frowned at the lady's quick but harsh assessment.

"She's in there." The instructor gestured into a classroom and walked away.

Nadia headed inside. A few of the girls were changing clothes or practicing movements. Nadia scanned the room and for a moment, she didn't even see her niece. She walked into the room and looked around again to find Bristow hunched in a corner of the room with her face buried in her arms and not looking at anyone.

Nadia walked over and knelt down. "Bris? Brissy, I've come to pick you up."

Bristow's head shot up at her voice and she looked up at her aunt, obviously surprised and confused.

"Hi, Bris. It's so good to see you. Eva and I are picking you up today."

The little girl stood up slowly but she still looked confused.

"Jillian couldn't make it, but I'm actually glad about that, because I'm so happy I get to see you." Nadia took a deep breath. She couldn't believe it had been almost two months since she'd seen the little girl.

"Do you have anything here you need to grab?"

Bristow went over to the bench and got her bag.

"My car is right outside, okay? Let's go." Nadia smiled and they headed towards the car. "How was your class today?"

Bristow shrugged.

"You want to sit right next to Eva?" Nadia questioned as she strapped her daughter into the car seat. "I think she'd like that."

Bristow climbed in and sat beside the car seat.

Eva grinned and leaned forward in her seat, looking at her cousin. She reached out a hand towards Bristow.

Bristow looked at the baby but she didn't even smile back.

Nadia made sure Bristow was secure in her booster seat. "I really have missed you so much, Bris. I want you to know that."

Bristow looked down at the seat uncomfortably.

Nadia sighed and climbed up front to head back to Sydney's house. "So what else have you been up to besides dance?"

She could see Bristow in the rearview mirror. The little girl said nothing and didn't look up.

"Well, let's see. Your cousin now has four teeth."

Bristow glanced at Eva.

"She missed you a lot too, I think. See how she keeps smiling at you."

Bristow turned and looked slowly. She reached out a hand towards Eva.

"She loves it when you talk to her," Nadia mentioned.

Eva grabbed onto one of Bristow's fingers and began inching it towards her mouth.

Bristow pulled her hand away and back into her lap. Eva let out a plaintive fuss.

"Eva, it's okay. Bristow's just not ready to let you test those new teeth on her."

It was awkwardly quiet for a few moments.

"We still have a room ready for you to come and stay with us sometimes, Bris. I'd really love to have you. And you can still call me if you need anything, ever."

It stayed silent and Nadia sighed wishing the little girl would say something. Anything. "Are you hungry? We can stop and get something to eat."

Bristow looked up. She looked interested but she still didn't speak.

Nadia pulled into a fast food place. "We'll all go in and eat." She ordered food and they all sat down at a table. She strapped Eva in a little high chair.

Nadia started eating and feeding Eva. She looked at Bristow who didn't touch her food. Nadia took a deep breath and kept eating, trying not to draw too much attention to it. Bristow slowly began eating chicken nuggets. Nadia fed Eva mostly, but tried to eat slowly so they wouldn't finish too long before Bristow.

"Now, that was good, wasn't it?"

Bristow gave her a slight nod.

They got back in the car and continued to the trip back to Sydney's. "Now if Jillian's not here, I'll stay with you, or we can go back to my house. Whatever would make you most comfortable."

Nadia got out and unbuckled Eva from the car-seat. "Ready?"

Bristow climbed out and they headed into the house.

Nadia followed, calling out as they entered. "Hello? Jillian?"

"Back here." Jillian poked out of the laundry room. "Oh thank you so much for picking her up. I have money for your gas and--"

"It's no trouble," Nadia answered. "How's your car?"

"It probably will be in the shop until tomorrow at least." She sighed. "Hey, Bristow, how was dance?"

Bristow shrugged.

Jillian took the little girl's bag and headed into the bedroom.

Nadia smiled. "So it was really good to see, Bris. I'll try and not let be so long before we see each other again."

Bristow only raised her eyes so far as her aunt's belly.

Nadia touched her belly. "I imagine Mommy told you that I'm going to have another baby."

The little girl just kept staring.

"You'll have another cousin, Bristow, like Eva. Except this one, it's going to be a boy."

Bristow hugged herself, her lips pressing tightly together and her eyes going glassy. She sat down on the couch.

Nadia sat down on the seat beside her niece. "Oh Bris, it's okay." She could just imagine from what Jillian had said what awful things Sydney must have told Bristow about the new baby and why it had been so long since the little girl had seen her.

Nadia put an arm around her niece. "It's okay, Bris. Even though I'm having another baby, I still love you so much. I know it's been a long time since we've seen each other but that's not what I've wanted. I've wanted to see you, Bris. I really have."

The little girl just blinked and silent tears dripped down her cheeks.

Nadia sighed and squeezed Bristow close. "I love you so much, Bris. So much." She kissed the top of her niece's head.

The little girl continued to cry.

Jillian came back into the living room and Bristow pulled away.

Nadia sighed as the little girl scampered into her bedroom. "She hasn't said a word to me since I picked her up."

Jillian nodded. "She has been pretty quiet the last couple weeks or so."

"Do you know if she's been okay? I mean, she hasn't been sick, or...had any bruises?" Nadia questioned.

Jillian raised an eyebrow. "No, nothing like that and I'm with her most days."

"Has she asked about me at all?"

"No, at least she hasn't asked me." Jillian shrugged slightly. "I'm sorry."

"She just seems more introverted than she usually is."

"I know. Thank you again for picking her up today."

"Does she ever seem happy to go to or come from dance? When I picked her up today, she was hiding in a corner and the instructor didn't seem like she liked her at all."

"I know the instructors there are very strict and serious about dance." Jillian smiled at Eva. "She's getting so big."

Nadia kissed her baby's cheek. "I know. I thought it was quick to be having another baby but she's hardly a baby anymore. If I wasn't having another one now, I'm starting to think I'd still have wanted one."

Eva gripped onto her mother's hair, not tightly, just studying it.

Nadia turned towards the door reluctantly, then paused. "If you ever need anything else for Bristow, feel free to call me."

"I will."

Nadia sighed and looked towards her niece's bedroom once more before heading out to the car. She strapped Eva back in her car seat.

"Dabamabada," Eva babbled, playing with her hair still.

Nadia gave Eva a squeeze and kiss on the cheek. "It doesn't matter what you call me. I still love you more than anything."

Her outgoing girl gave her a cheesy smile.

Nadia kissed her once more before they headed home.

* * *

Nadia cleaned the last bits of food off the high chair as Eric came back into the kitchen.

"You did it?"

"Yes, she is in the crib, sleeping like a baby," Eric responded.

"That's good. After skipping her nap today, I was hoping she'd go out early. Right in her dinner wasn't quite what I pictured."

Eric laughed and gathered up the dishes from their own dinner. "It was rather cute. One minute she was talking to us, the next, plop."

"I just hope this nap skipping doesn't become a habit."

"You and Eric Junior need more rest than that?"

Nadia raised an eyebrow as she wiped down the high chair. "If you really want an Eric Junior, you really should tell me now."

"I'm just joking. I don't really want our son named after me. I think he should have a name of his own. Eric and Eva just sound too alike." Eric started the dishes.

Nadia nodded, putting the high chair tray back in place. "So I saw Bristow today."

"What? Sydney finally called?" Eric questioned.

"No, actually, Jillian did. She had some car trouble and needed me to grab Bris for her. I'm not going to mention it Sydney and I imagine she won't either."

"So, how was Bristow?"

Nadia sank into her chair at the table. "Not good. First, the dance studio instructor sounded like she didn't even like Bristow. Then, Bristow wouldn't even say a single word to me or even Eva. I just felt so much for her. Jillian made it sound like Sydney's been saying I don't want to see Bristow. I tried to let Bristow know that's not true. I don't know if she believed me or even understood. When I finally got her back to the house, I was talking to her and she just started crying."

"Aw, Nadia, I'm so sorry." He came back over to the table.

"I just hate this, Eric. I hated going two months without seeing her or talking to her. I hate to think about going even longer and not knowing what Sydney's telling her…or how she might be treating her. And I just miss her, Eric. I miss her so much. When I saw how she acted today, I just got so scared to even think about why she seems so much worse than ever before." Nadia felt her breath hitching in her throat.

Eric wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry."

She couldn't find the tears that started to fall. "I just wanted to bring her home. That's still what I want to do. March over there and just take her. I don't care that she's not mine. I just wish she was."

"Look, we tried backing off for awhile, and it doesn't look like things are getting any better. If you want to try something else, I'm up for it. If you want me to, I'll go over there right now and see if I can't get her for the night or the weekend or the week. Whatever you want, Nadia."

She buried her face in his chest. "What I want is for Sydney to stop hurting her."

Eric hugged her tighter.


End file.
